The World Bank (WB) has commenced engagement with regional institutions in West Africa towards the commencement of its “fifth Implementation Support Mission (ISM) for regional institutions of the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP). 

The regional wrap-up meeting, aimed at reviewing the progress of the implementation of FSRP in each participating country, is to consolidate the coordination of regional and national activities; promote cross-learning and create synergies between all FSRP stakeholders.

The four-day engagement was held at the World Bank Head Office in Accra.

The event was attended by a representative of the WB and the Regional Task Team Leader of FSRP, Dr Ashwini R. Sebastian; the Financial Management Specialist at FSRP Ghana, Rev. Ben Johnson, and the Technical Advisor of the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kwasi Etu Bonde, who represented the Sector Minister, Eric Opoku.

Also present were the regional and country coordinators of the FSRP in the ECOWAS sub-region; directors from West and Central African Council of Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF); directors from Permanent Interstates Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), as well as directors of various agencies under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).

Project

The representative of the World Bank, Dr Sebastian, told the Daily Graphic that the WB had injected $1.2 billion into the five-year FSRP programme and was expected to end in 2028 with a potential for scale-up.

She said the programme had already made substantial progress, reaching over 2.3 million beneficiaries.

Dr Sebastian said “the FSRP aims to build resilient food systems in the member countries, going beyond on-farm production to connect farmers to markets, digital advisories, and climate-smart technologies”.

As part of the FSRP, she said there would be rehabilitation of irrigation schemes at various places, including Weta, Tanoso, and inland valleys and floodplains; and introducing biochar-targeted fertilisers, transplanters, and other technologies to benefit farmers.

Dr Sebastian further said the project would add two million birds annually through the poultry intensification scheme, and also encourage the youth to enter agriculture through training and support.

In response to last year's drought, she lauded the MoFA’s approach to the Ghana Meteorological Agency to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to have frequent updates on the weather and rain patterns across the country to be able to prepare for the seasons and improve drought resilience.

Irrigation

In a speech read on behalf of the Minister of Food and Agriculture, by Mr Etu-Bonde, he lauded the WB for the programme, saying “It will increase preparedness against food insecurity and improve resilience of the food system in Ghana and other participating West African countries”.

He said the various components under the programme, including the establishment of automated weather stations and a working group to generate and disseminate agro-metrological services to farmers, would help improve farming in the country.

The minister emphasised that the expansion of irrigation schemes such as the Kpong Irrigation Scheme would increase food production and security.

He added that the programme had already achieved some significant successes, including the training of 1,454 farmers, while it also supported smallholder farmers and backyard poultry producers.

Mr Opoku expressed gratitude to the WB for its support and gave an assurance that the government would support the project to its successful end to help address the concerns of food insecurity.