Côte d’Ivoire has taken a big step toward strengthening its food security and reducing dependence on imports through an agricultural investment with Italy’s Bonifiche Ferraresi (BF) Group. On September 25, 2025, the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, signed a 134 million euro agreement, equivalent to $156.8 million, with the Italian agribusiness conglomerate to develop a 10,000-hectare pilot farm in Tagadi, located in the Sorobango sub-prefecture. The deal, reported by the county’s local state media, reflects a broader strategy by Ivorian authorities to enhance domestic agricultural output while addressing the structural challenge of commodity dependence that has long shaped the country’s food system.
The pilot project is designed to diversify and intensify domestic food production, focusing on staple and high-demand crops such as yams, maize, millet, chili peppers, and eggplant. Authorities emphasize that this initiative is not merely about cultivating land but about systematically reducing reliance on imported staples, particularly wheat and rice, which have historically accounted for a significant share of the country’s food import bill. According to the 2025 UNCTAD report The State of Commodity Dependence, Côte d’Ivoire imported nearly $2.90 billion worth of food between 2021 and 2023, with rice, soft wheat, and various flours representing the bulk of these expenditures. The BF project thus represents a strategic intervention to redirect a portion of this capital into domestic production, with potential ripple effects across the local economy.
For BF Group, the Côte d’Ivoire investment is part of a calculated expansion across West Africa, reflecting both the region’s agricultural potential and the increasing demand for structured, large-scale agribusiness operations. The Italian firm has been actively developing projects across multiple countries: in August 2024, it launched a $98.5 million initiative to cultivate a 5,000-hectare estate in Aveyime-Battor, Ghana, situated in the fertile Volta region, and in April 2025, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Senegal’s Kaour commune to implement a 10,000-hectare agricultural program. The Côte d’Ivoire venture, therefore, is the third in this series and represents a deepening of BF’s footprint in West Africa, signaling confidence in both the investment climate and the agronomic potential of the region.
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The practical implications of the Tagadi project extend beyond land development. By promoting local crop production at scale, the initiative has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs across planting, processing, and logistics, while also stimulating smallholder integration into broader supply chains. In a country where agriculture employs over 40 percent of the labor force, structured interventions of this scale can meaningfully alter livelihoods, offering technical support, access to mechanized farming, and opportunities for youth engagement. For smallholders in surrounding communities, collaboration with BF could provide access to inputs, irrigation technology, and knowledge transfer that have traditionally been beyond reach, thereby enhancing productivity while mitigating the reliance on imported commodities.
Côte d’Ivoire’s food import challenge underscores the strategic importance of such projects. Wheat and rice imports alone have historically represented a significant drain on foreign exchange reserves, limiting the government’s fiscal flexibility. Redirecting even a portion of these imports into domestic production not only strengthens food sovereignty but also buffers the economy against global market volatility. With global wheat prices experiencing sustained volatility due to geopolitical tensions and climate-related yield fluctuations, building domestic capacity becomes a risk mitigation strategy as much as an economic development priority.
The project also signals an alignment with sustainability and climate-smart agriculture principles. Large-scale, professionally managed estates offer the opportunity to implement advanced irrigation systems, soil conservation practices, and precision farming techniques, which can increase yield per hectare while reducing environmental degradation. In West Africa, where erratic rainfall, land degradation, and post-harvest losses frequently limit smallholder productivity, introducing large-scale operational knowledge and infrastructure can create replicable models for resilient, high-output farming.
Furthermore, the investment highlights the evolving role of public-private partnerships in African agriculture. Governments are increasingly recognizing that achieving food security, enhancing local production, and fostering sustainable economic growth require coordinated engagement with experienced private sector actors. By providing incentives, land access, and regulatory support, Côte d’Ivoire positions itself as an attractive destination for international agribusiness investment, while BF contributes technical expertise, capital, and operational capacity to make large-scale agricultural development viable.
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However, translating investment into tangible outcomes will depend on the effective integration of the pilot farm with local food systems. Supply chain connectivity, market access, and equitable distribution of benefits to local communities will determine whether the project strengthens food sovereignty or merely channels production into export-oriented supply chains. Monitoring mechanisms and inclusive planning, particularly with smallholders and local cooperatives, will be critical to ensuring that increased production translates into reduced import dependency, lower food prices, and greater resilience against regional food insecurity.
As BF Group consolidates its presence across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Senegal, the Tagadi initiative could serve as a benchmark for scaling agricultural investments in West Africa. By combining financial capital with technical know-how and a structured development approach, this project illustrates a practical pathway for countries seeking to transition from import dependence toward greater domestic production capacity. Its success would not only enhance Côte d’Ivoire’s food security but could also provide a replicable model for other countries in the region facing similar challenges, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can balance commercial objectives with national development priorities.
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