A delegation from the French Embassy in Ghana has undertaken a working tour of the northern part of the country to inspect projects being supported by the French government and agencies.

Led by the Ambassador, Jules-Armand Aniambossou, and also included the Director of Agence France Development (AFD), Clémentine Dardy, the delegation sought to strengthen cooperation between France and northern Ghana, particularly in the areas of agriculture and urban development.

It also provided an opportunity to demonstrate France’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Ghana to support the development of the country’s northern regions.

During the tour, the delegation visited the Agricultural Water Management Project (AWMP), co-financed by AFD (€5M) and the EU (€40M), as well as met with agricultural partners, including the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) in Tamale, a research institute focused on improving agricultural productivity and the women’s cooperative producing shea butter at Tugu, supported by the French microfinance company Advans.

Projects

The AWMP seeks to increase productivity and farmers’ income in Northern Ghana by building and rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure.

Another project, nicknamed ‘The Better’ (Better Farming in Northern Ghana) project, also co-financed by AFD (€11M) and the EU (€8M), envisions to improve food security and support an agroecological transition of practices through the strengthening of value chains for various products (shea, vegetables, soybeans, beekeeping products).

The first stop of the tour took the delegation to Wa, where a durbar was held to present the projects and reinforce their ownership by all stakeholders.

The event was graced by the Minister of Agriculture, Eric Opoku, the Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Puozing Lwanga, and representatives from other ministries (Local Government, Finance).

Speaking at the event, Mr Aniambossou said the support from France for the projects was to help the area push towards realising its potential of becoming the breadbasket.

“It is not by coincidence that the government of Ghana has launched the "Feed Ghana" programme to boost national agricultural production, reduce reliance on food imports and create jobs in agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.

“Our support for the agriculture value chain is not only to help improve the agriculture value chain, but also to support the latest initiative,” the French Ambassador stated. 

Tamale

The next phase of the visit saw the delegation in Tamale and joined by the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly.

The delegation met with the Minister of Education and MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, the Northern Regional Minister, John Adolf Ali, representatives of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and several local chiefs.

These meetings offered fruitful discussions on enhancing France–Northern Ghana cooperation.

They also inspected the sites of a major urban development project, the “Tamale, Resilient City,” as part of a future project to be financed by the EU (€23.4M) and AFD (€5M).

This project is the second phase of the “Sustainable Cities” programme.

The first phase, funded by the EU (€14.7M) and implemented by Expertise France, essentially was aimed at strengthening governance in six northern Ghana cities, including Tamale.

The second phase focuses on Tamale and seeks to enhance resilience to floods and heat waves by improving urban governance and building infrastructure to better manage floods and creating green public spaces.

One of the innovative aspects of this project is that it has been designed with the strong involvement of local populations and the use of nature-based solutions to improve the quality of the urban environment.

The team wrapped up its tour with a visit to the Larabanga Mosque, one of the oldest religious and heritage sites in Ghana, whose restoration was supported by French funding.