ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the theoretical links that underpin food security with a focus on how, in a race for freer' trade, food security can be altered. It presents an overview of the food security developments in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The chapter highlights the challenges facing ECOWAS countries in political and economic environments. The food security developments in ECOWAS should also be considered in the economic context of actual and likely growth rates in the region. The chapter examines the past and current food security developments in ECOWAS, and although the region faces food security problems, there are regional response mechanisms. Thus, as ECOWAS deepens its market linkages, it is vital that it restructures its response to food security through greater international and regional cooperation and coordination, and considering the food crisis in the Sahel region, humanitarian access in the delivery of food aid should be addressed.
