IFAD, Ghana sign $46m agric deal

Ghana and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have signed a $46.6 million deal to boost agricultural production in the country.

The deal comprised $36.6 million loan and $10 million grant Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme.

Ghana’s Food and Agriculture Minister, Fifi Kwetey, and IFAD Vice President, Michel Mordasini, signed the financing agreement on Tuesday in Rome.

At the ceremony, Mordasini said the programme would link smallholder farmers to agri-businesses to enhance growth by helping them to access assets they needed to increase their productivity, competitiveness and incomes.

He said the grant component was intended to promote climate change adaptation under IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme.

He expressed the hope that the investment would leverage additional private investment of 17.5 million dollars of agricultural loans from financial institutions over the initial six years of implementation.

“An additional $35 million will be sought from IFAD’s country allocation for the period 2016-2018.

“In partnership with Ghana, we are bringing together climate change resilience with smart marketing approaches to strengthen each part of the value chain, which in turn ensures more profits for small farmers.

“Programmes such as these create a favourable environment for smallholder farmers, particularly for women and youth, to engage in profitable agriculture businesses,” he said.

Mordasini said domestic and regional demand for food and cash crops was high, and agri-businesses are interested in working with smallholder farmers.