The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ministry of Local Governance and Rural Development (MLGRD) on Friday 26th June 2020 announced a GHC 2.5 million pilot support to Women’s Farmer-Based Organizations (WFBOs) engaged in post-production agricultural operations in Ghana.
At a launch of this project, Mr. Robert P. Ankobiah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said the activities to be supported under the project included, purchasing and installation of agro-processing equipment, capacity building on operation and maintenance of the machinery, as well as coaching on marketing techniques to ensure appropriate market linkages.
The initiative is expected to contribute towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Ghana Government’s Investment for Food and Jobs (PFJ) objectives.
The support from Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) forms part of the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) program meant to consolidate the efforts of the WFBOs towards adding value to their products for exports and local markets.
The support is channeled through Women in Agriculture Development (WIAD) Directorate of MoFA as well as the decentralized departments of agriculture throughout the country, the support will foster women’s competitiveness in providing good quality value-added products to local and foreign customers.
For a successful implementation of this project, MoFA signed an Agreement with GRATIS, an Agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industries (MoTI), to fabricate the equipment/machinery required by the beneficiary WFBOs, deliver and install them for use by the women groups.
The selection of the equipment was based on an on-site needs assessment conducted by GRATIS at the request of MoFA; and as part of this Agreement, GRATIS will provide after-sales service. MoFA has signed an MoU with leaders of the three (3) beneficiary WFBOs from the Greater Accra Region.
