MAFAP re-launches in Accra to help repurpose Ghana's food and agriculture policies

Today in Accra, the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme kicked-off a new 5-year collaboration with the Ghanaian authorities to reform public policy on food and agriculture.  

The new collaboration for the third phase of the MAFAP programme brings Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture, National Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and FAO’s MAFAP programme together to optimise public budgets to the agricultural sector and to identify areas with high impact potential for agricultural growth, employment and food security and nutrition.  

“Globally, there is huge momentum for countries to rethink, repurpose and reform their policies on food and agriculture”, said Christian Derlagen, MAFAP Manager and Senior Economist at FAO during the official launch meeting in Accra. "And today in Ghana we are pleased to renew the MAFAP programme, standing ready to support our partners with economic analyses and advice to guide the government on its path to agricultural transformation, better nutrition and easier market access for farmers”, he added. 

MAFAP team will work on a wide-ranging policy analysis and reform portfolio. This will entail monitoring public spending devoted to the sector to better understand spending patterns, priorities and bottlenecks. The programme will also conduct an analysis of price incentives to determine how public policies affect farmers’ decisions to produce or trade a commodity. Additionally, MAFAP will help the government to prioritize policy options with the high impacts on inclusive agricultural transformation through costs-benefit analyses and an economy-wide modelling tool. 

The FAO-based programme has also signed a Letter of Agreement with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to carry out an assessment on two value chains, maize and rice, which suffer the most food loss and waste in the country. The study will also seek to identify technological solutions and bring private sector investments to the two strategically important commodities for food security in Ghana.

The launch event was attended by the FAO Representative in Ghana ad interim Benjamin Adjei, as well as representatives from Ghana’s National Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, and the National Food Buffer Stock Company. 

In the coming weeks, the MAFAP team will work with partners in Ghana to narrow down the most pressing policy issues and develop a work plan. Economist and Policy Analyst Renata Baborksa will be MAFAP focal point for Ghana and will be based in Accra.