17 December 2013, Rome – It is possible for West African countries to strengthen their food security. So why have so many countries in the region been lagging behind in their growth? A new report released by FAO called, Rebuilding West Africa’s Food Potential, presents a range of case studies which highlight successful investments in agricultural development in West Africa. Since the World Food crisis in 2007-2008, many African countries stepped up their agricultural investments and focused on new strategies in order to strengthen their food security. However, even though some countries are doing better than others, the region are trailing other parts of Africa in terms of basic infrastructure, investments, research and development and agricultural processing.