FAO and IFAD renew will to work together in Ghana
Towards strengthened collaboration and support to agricultural and rural development in new shared Offices allocated by the Government
Accra- The Government of Ghana today made a multi-purpose office complex in Accra available to two United Nations Agencies - the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – to facilitate their operations and accommodate staff in the country.
This gesture from the Government of Ghana recognizes the critical role that the two Rome-based agencies play in the country’s development agenda.
Over the past years, FAO and IFAD have worked closely with the government and the people of Ghana to improve the social and economic well-being of the nation.
Mr. Fifi Kwetey, Minister for Food and Agriculture, said FAO's presence in Ghana has brought enormous benefit to the country and that Ghana was looking forward to increased collaboration to improve upon various agricultural interventions.
The agriculture Minister also noted that Government would be pleased to seeing Ghana becoming a hub for IFAD in Africa. He further called on the stronger collaboration between the UN agencies to develop agriculture which is the bedrock of the Ghanaian economy and providing job opportunities for the majority of the people.
Working as One for country and people
Since the commencement of FAO presence in Ghana in 1959 and the establishment of the FAO-Ghana Country Office in 1978, over 350 technical projects have been implemented, amounting to over US$ 230 million. Additional resources were mobilized from development partners to support the agricultural sector.
“This year, as FAO celebrates its 70th Anniversary, this important moment marks a longstanding partnership between Ghana and FAO, which has spanned close to 55 years when FAO commenced its presence in Ghana to cover the Africa region”, declared Mr. Bukar Tijani, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa.
“Ghana has reduced the number of undernourished people from 7.1 million in 1990-1992 to 800,000 in the 2014-2016 assessment, which has placed the country among African countries to have less than 5% of the undernourished in the society”, he commended on behalf of FAO Director-General, Mr. Graziano da Silva.
FAO and the Government of Ghana are promoting the development of Community Development Centers (CDCs). The CDCs contribute to the Government’s rural development strategy of creating vibrant hubs of economic and social activities beyond our cities and towns and serve as a platform for value chain promotion around key commodities in the crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries sectors.
FAO provided technical and financial assistance for the control of the Papaya mealybug pest which wiped out close to 85% of papaya farms in Eastern, Central, Greater Accra and Volta regions in 2009 and left many farmers’ livelihoods in disarray. To date, the mealybug pest is now fully under control, a green house facility set up to facilitate sustainable production of the bioagents in Ghana and capacity of over seventy (70) Ministry of Food and Agriculture staff was built in field rearing of bioagents and management of the Papaya mealybug.
IFAD’s overarching objective is to reduce poverty in line with the government’s economic development strategy. Since it began operations in Ghana in 1980, IFAD has invested US$ 271.5 million in loans and grants to support 17 projects and programmes worth a total investment cost of over US$ 780 million, benefitting more than 3.5 million rural households.
“Today is truly a significant landmark with the inauguration of this joint FAO-IFAD office. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the government for their exceptional support in making this possible. I am also pleased to work even more closely with our colleagues at FAO to better serve the Ghanaian farmers and rural population”, said Michel Mordasini, Vice President of IFAD.
“Strengthening IFAD’s partnerships to improve our impact in-country is at the heart of our decentralization strategy, which we embarked upon a decade ago,” he added.
Current programme support by IFAD includes the Northern Rural Growth Programme and the Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Rural and Agricultural Finance Programme by the Ministry of Finance, and the Rural Enterprises Programme, by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
IFAD is working with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on a new national initiative, the Ghana Agriculture Sector Investment Programme, which is designed to leverage private investment in agricultural value chains, with the objective to link smallholders, particularly women and youth to markets, and to help them access finance, technologies and services to increase their productivity, competitiveness and income. The programme includes a USD 10 grant million to support adaptation of smallholder agriculture to climate change.
Following the establishment of a Country Office in Ghana in 2011, IFAD has been engaging in policy dialogue through and with its partners.
The handing over of the office will further strengthen the relationship between Ghana and the UN agencies in the area of technical support and cooperation to food and nutrition security and development.
Useful links:
Web sites: www.fao.org; www.ifad.org; www.fao.org/ghana
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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided over US$16.3 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached about 438 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.
Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. Our three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
Contacts
David Youngs, FAO-Ghana Communication
Liliane Kambirigi, FAO Regional Office Communication
David Paqui, IFAD Regional Communications Officer for
East & Southern and West & Central Africa