The project, which is to address the impact of climate change on rural livelihoods is being implemented by the GIZ/Competitive Cashew initiative (GIZ/ComCashew) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).

It was funded by the European Union (EU) at a cost of €19.5 million over a seven year period.

It would enable a sustainable and inclusive improvement in the rural economy through enhanced climate change adaptation and mitigation practices in 200 communities in the joint programme area of the EU-Ghana Agriculture Programme (EUGAP) by 2024.

The districts area are: Nadowli/Kaleo and Wa West Districts, Jirapa, Lwara and Sissala East Municipalities in the Upper West Region and the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Savanna Region.

"The project adopts a gender-sensitive approach in helping communities to practice and sustain climate change adaptation practices", Mr Florian Winckler, the REACH project leader said at an inception workshop in Wa.

He said the GIZ/ComCashew and the IWMI would collaborate with stakeholders at the community, district, regional and national levels for the successful implementation of the project.

 Mr Winckler entreated all stakeholders in the project implementation process to avail themselves for the smooth and effective implementation of the project.

Madam Elisa Romanato of the GIZ Climate Policy Support Programme noted that her outfit commissioned a climate risk study from the Potsdam Institute in 2019 to identify and weigh adaptation strategies in Ghana's agricultural sector.

She said the GIZ and Potsdam Institute for Climate impact Research (PIK) also conducted a climate risk study for Ghana's agricultural sector at the district level in the Upper West Region to validate the national study's findings.

She said the study, which was conducted on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), "aims at providing precise recommendations on suitable and effective adaptation strategies at district level".

The workshop was to among others, introduce the REACH project to the relevant implementing partners, present the project implementation strategy to participants, and to prioritise different climate change adaptation measures relevant to the Upper West Region.