Media backgrounder MB/02/09

Ghana – Agricultural success stories from IFAD 

US President Barack Obama is visiting Ghana on 11 July to highlight “the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.”  Since 1980, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has worked to support lasting development in Ghana. IFAD-funded projects have helped some 3.5 million households raise their incomes, improve their food security and gain a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. Even though Ghana’s poverty reduction rate is among the best in sub-Saharan Africa, poverty still has a firm grip on rural areas where IFAD works.

IFAD in Ghana

Projects: 15 
Total financing from IFAD: US$184.45 million
Total cost: US$456.5 million (including cofinancing)

How IFAD is making a difference

Cassava – from humble tuber to baker’s delight

Cassava has long been a Cinderella crop, grown by subsistence farmers, with little demand from urban or international markets. For years IFAD was a lone advocate of the power of cassava as a cash crop. The organization worked to boost cassava production to feed more people, reaching 700,000 smallholder farmers, but also to create tastier, higher-yield varieties to win over urban consumers. Today the availability of traditional cassava-based food such as fufu and gari has dramatically increased in rural and urban areas. The project also involves production of bread and biscuits made from high-quality cassava flour, development of cassava recipes and training for bakers.

Creating rural entrepreneurs – rural ‘industrial zones’

This project is a model of how to develop microenterprises in rural areas to widen the income base beyond farming. The first phase involved setting up local training facilities and advisory centres to help rural people, including women and young people, gain technical skills, access financial services and establish businesses. It was so successful that the government asked IFAD to help take the project nationwide. IFAD is now working with local governments to create rural industrial zones to ease microentrepreneurs’ access to business development services and training in areas as diverse as metal working, carpentry, soap-making and making tie-dye and batik fabrics.

Strengthening rural banks – consolidating nationwide

Strong rural financial institutions are vital for supporting economic growth driven by the private sector and for helping poor rural people diversify their livelihoods. Starting from Ghana’s home-grown rural banks, IFAD helped consolidate and expand the rural banking network and supported the creation of the ARB Apex Bank of rural and community banks. There are now more than 450 banking points, with around 3 million clients. Twenty rural banks have also made it onto the prestigious list of Ghana’s 100 most efficient businesses.

Empowering women – securing access to land and income

In northern Ghana, an IFAD-supported programme helped women benefit from land distribution and water irrigation. Often women do not have access to fertile land. IFAD has supported the construction of small dams and the creation of water users’ associations as an incentive for the distribution of land in a way that recognizes the importance of women farmers. In many districts, members of water users associations have consolidated their access to land and water through 50-year lease contracts negotiated with the traditional authorities. The project worked with women to help them grow higher-value crops such as tomatoes and onions, and help them access markets.  

Want to know more about IFAD’s work in Ghana? Call for an interview with the director of IFAD’s Western and Central Africa Division and IFAD’s country programme manager for Ghana. 

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes, and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 340 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).