A close-out and learning event for the phase one of the KfW-AGRA project ended in Accra on Thursday with a call for more support to boost the cultivation of rice and cassava in the country.
The Public-Private Partnership for Competitive and Inclusive Rice Value Chain Development Project and the Ghana Cassava Industrialization Project, which ran from 2018 to 2022, provided support to smallholder farmers involved in rice and cassava cultivation as part of the PFJ Program.
The partners also provided an additional grant to mitigate the secondary effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on smallholder farmers in Ghana.
In this partnership, AGRA provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to develop appropriate public-private partnership models to facilitate and mobilise investments in the rice and cassava production infrastructure and value chains.
The consortium also provided opportunities for rice and cassava farmers that resulted in increased access to markets, long term business relationships with processors, improved access to services and production including financing, high quality inputs, productivity enhancing technologies and mechanization services.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo revealed that the project coincided with government’s flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) which had in focus, agricultural development as the indispensable engine for growth and development of the entire nation.
Explaining, he noted that it was for this reason that government harnessed resources from all ends to give the agriculture sector the needed support to boost agricultural production along the value chain to meet the country’s food and nutrition security needs, as well as create wealth and increase income for farmers.
The success of the PFJ initiative he said could not be mentioned without without the support of the KfW-AGRA projects and their contribution to agricultural development in Ghana.
Mr Frimpong Addo expressed gratitude to KfW-AGRA for their immense support in bringing the partners together to implement the project, adding that the project could not succeed without the public and private sector working hand in hand to ensure the smooth implementation of projects being undertaken.
The Country Manager of AGRA Ghana, Madam Juliet Lampoh-Agroh in her remarks underscored the need for more women to be inclided in such initiatives.
She also assured that AGRA would continue to prioritise women in all its endeavours.
On his part Programme Officer, AGRA, Mr Bashiru Musah further threw light on the project’s role in promoting inclusivity among agricultural sector stakeholders and fostering collaboration between research entities and seed companies.
Partnership, he said was key in that regard, as no single institution coud undertake such an inititative on their own.
He further acknowledged the contributions of key implementing partners such as the John A. Kufuor Foundation and the Hopeline Institute.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
