CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
GoG AND DPs - WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Food security is a particularly important issue for those less able to access good quality nutritious food: the rural/urban poor; disadvantaged populations such as women; or in situations where not enough food is available. All Ghanaians should have sufficient quantities of nutritious food all year round, located in the right places, at the right times, at affordable prices. Agriculture is one of the major economic engines providing about 37% of the gross domestic product and employing 56% of the labour force in Ghana. Smallholder, family-operated farms produce most of Ghana’s total agricultural output. Despite an annual growth rate averaging more than 4%, there are still many inefficiencies in the agri-food supply chain. The Government of Ghana (GoG) has adopted a new agricultural policy, the Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy II (FASDEP II) to enhance the productivity of all those involved in agriculture, targeting poor, risk-prone and risk-averse producers. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports GoG’s efforts by focusing on promoting private sector development through food security and agriculture in a multi-donor environment. The manner of aid delivery includes: direct project interventions; provision of technical expertise to GoG (MoFA and MLGRDE); and direct budgetary support for country-owned strategies and delivery systems. CIDA annually provides approximately $35 Million Canadian dollars in support to the agriculture sector in Ghana.
KEY ISSUES
• Improved food availability by increasing sustainable agricultural production, efficiency and storage. • Improved food access by reducing poverty and increasing rural incomes, particularly among women and youth. • Enhanced utilization of existing food resources by improving nutition, food handling and storage practices at the household and community levels. • Strengthened overall institutional capacity to deliver agriculture sector growth and pro-poor equitable development by improving the efficiency of the agri-food value chain.
AREAS OF FOCUS
• Providing budgetary support to implement FASDEP II. Results to date include an increase in cultivated areas under irrigation; in access to mechanized tillage; and in small-scale agro-processing. Public Sector Development: • Strengthening the capacity of MoFA and MLGRDE to carry out Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of results and performance at the district, regional and national levels. Results include an improved sector policy, better results-based planning and reporting, and some improved linkages with research institutes. Private Sector Development: • Strengthening the capacity of the agri-food sector by supporting the organization of farmer groups to create greater access to goods, services and markets. Results to date include trained and supported FBOs, a draft register of Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) with monitoring frameworks, and district steering committees. Gender Issues: • Ensuring equal access to opportunities for increased agricultural productivity for women, men, girls and boys and to food security for all. Results to date include increased access of women to resources and decision-making processes, and increased capacities of women to take on leadership roles. Environment Issues: • Instituting more effective environmental protection programming in the agriculture sector. Results to date include increased involvement of EPA in the sector, such as in the environmental screening of MoFA’s 2008-10 Strategic Plan, and the finalization of an Agricultural Land Management Strategy.
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
• Budgetary support to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to implement the FASDEP II & and the Agriculture Sector Plan at the national, regional and district levels. • Community-Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS): Promotes and increases the effective use of existing local government structures in providing food security in the Eastern Corridor of the Northern Region. • Food Security Advisory Services (FSAS): Provides for advisory support to assist the GoG in analysis, policy development, sectoral analysis and programming at national, regional and district levels. • Farmer-Based Organizations (FBO): Serves the short and medium-term needs of farmer–based organizations at the national, regional and district levels. • Developing Rural Entrepreneurs (DREP): Focuses on institutional capacity building to increase access and availability of demand driven and relevant entrepreneurial training in the three northern regions. • Measuring Impact in Food Security and Agriculture Program (MIFSP): Improves information-based decision making related to food security at the national level, with a strategic focus on northern Ghana. • Food Security and Environment Facility (FSEF): Aims to institute more effective food security/environment programming over the next 3 to 7 years in the three northern regions. • Ghana Environment Management Project (GEMP): Provides support to build the institutional capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency and to implement key activities of the National Action Program to Combat Drought and Desertification in the three northern regions. • GoG Land Administration Project (LAP): Addresses legal and regulatory issues around land rights in Ghana (via the World Bank Trust Fund).