Press release number: IFAD 03/06

Rome, 20 January 2006 - A new development programme in Ghana will benefit small farmers, traders and processors of roots and tubers.  Cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, cocoyam and other roots and tubers are grown by the poorest Ghanaians and are crucial to their food security.
The US$27.7 million programme will be financed partly by a US$19 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Government of Ghana will contribute US$3.9 million. Today's loan agreement was signed by Ghana's Ambassador to Italy, Kofi Dsane-Selby and the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, at IFAD headquarters in Rome.

Nearly 55 per cent of all farming households in Ghana cultivate roots and tubers, which can be grown all year round.  Root and tuber crops represent the mainstay of Ghanaian livelihoods, providing more than 42 percent of the staple food supply as well as sizable quantities of raw material for agro-industries.

The programme will improve the lives of the farmers, traders and processors who depend on roots and tubers for their livelihoods, at least half of whom are women. It will help them participate more fully in the marketing chain for selling roots and tubers including negotiating prices and contracts and improving bartering and marketing skills.
Roots and tuber production will also be improved. Through farmer-field forums, agricultural researchers and farmers will meet to exchange information on cultivation practices and share their experiences. Farmers will enhance their knowledge of new varieties of roots and tubers, soil fertility management and pest control.

The programme will also promote the use of new processing means by increasing rural producers' access to improved technologies and skills training. Credit and micro-leasing will be made available so farmers and processors can upgrade their equipment and make use of new technology. Farmer organizations and private sector operators will be strengthened in order to be in a position to better shape the policies regarding roots and tubers development.

''By increasing their access to markets and new technology and building on indigenous knowledge, the programme will help Ghana's rural poor to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods.  They will be less marginalized and participate more actively in the development process,'' said Mohamed Manssouri, IFAD's Country Programme Manager for Ghana.
With this loan IFAD will have financed 13 programmes and projects in Ghana for a total of US$155.73 million dollars.

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are almost 200 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling about US$6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$3.0 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$8.8 billion in 695 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project beneficiaries, have contributed about US$8.5 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided about US$6.9 billion in cofinancing.