$7m Food security project launched
The government has launched a $7 million project to bolster food security in the country.
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Dubbed “Farmer support activity,” it is in partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The project would support 17,000 farmers in their agricultural activities in the lean season in selected districts in the Upper East, Upper West, North East and Northern regions, as well as adjacent areas for a period of three months.
Each farmer will receive the equivalent of $315 million via mobile money for a three-month period starting this month.
The initiative is being implemented through a well-designed cash transfer system to be disbursed in two tranches to the beneficiaries.
The multi-sectoral project includes the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the National Identification Authority (NIA) and MTN.
The WFP has already identified, targeted and registered the beneficiaries who include vulnerable smallholder farmers.
The project was launched by the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture,Yaw Frimpong Addo, in Accra yesterday.
Lack of capital
The deputy minister said that what held many people back from embarking on farming was the lack of capital.
He, however, said that under the initiative, farmers would receive funds directly on their phones to support them in their activities.
“All what is needed is to ensure that the programme is monitored to ensure its success.
“I also urge the beneficiaries to prove to the donors that this money will not be used for their personal gains, but for productivity,” the minister added.
Disbursement
The Country Director for WFP, Barbara Clemens, said beginning this month, 17,000 targeted productive smallholder farmers in 17 selected districts in the northern part of the country would be assisted with mobile money cash transfers.
She said the selected farmers had landholdings of between one and 10 acres, while the threshold for women, youth and marginalised groups such as persons with disability had been lowered from one to 0.5 acres to ensure their inclusion.
The country director said during the selection and registration phase which was undertaken in May this year, farmers who had registered but had not yet received their Ghana cards had been given the chance to do so.
She said the WFP was also exploring opportunities to leverage a geographic information system technology to monitor crop types, trends and patterns of productivity of the farmers.
Commendation
Ms Clemens commended the government for the partnership, and USAID for its generosity in providing the funds and for the confidence it had in the WFP.
She also expressed appreciation to the national, regional and district level officials of MoFA and other partners for working to ensure the success of the initiative.
“While global events may call to question attainment of Zero Hunger by 2030, it is clear to me that it is doable only through coordination, collaboration and synergising our collective efforts to maximise our impact.”
“It is only then that we can occupy a transformative space to achieve Zero Hunger,” Ms Clemens added.
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