A rift has emerged between Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ministry of Finance over the country's exit from a World Bank-backed food security programme. The Ministry of Finance wrote to the World Bank on September 23 requesting Ghana's withdrawal from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) without consulting the Agriculture Ministry. This move has put GH¢643.87 million in farm infrastructure contracts at risk.
The FSRP was designed to strengthen food-system resilience across West Africa, supporting agricultural productivity and shoring up regional food security. Ghana's Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku has written to the Finance Ministry asking that the decision be reversed. In his letter, Opoku stated that the ministry was requesting urgent reconsideration of the decision. The Agriculture Ministry has incurred GH¢643,867,633.36 in contractual obligations tied to the FSRP for ongoing agricultural infrastructure projects.
Of the total contractual obligations, GH¢520.26 million is linked to financing from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's arm that provides low-interest loans and grants to lower-income countries. An additional GH¢123.61 million comes from the FS2030 Trust Fund. The Agriculture Ministry has cautioned that pulling out of the programme without first securing an alternative source of financing could leave the government on the hook to settle these outstanding commitments from other funds.
MoFA warned that pulling out of the programme could translate into delayed project timelines, added costs, and possible contractual claims from contractors already engaged on the ground. The funds tied to the programme have been going toward agricultural infrastructure projects that are currently under construction or implementation. If the withdrawal stands without a replacement funding plan, farmers and communities depending on these infrastructure projects risk seeing work stall midway.
The disagreement highlights a lack of coordination between two ministries handling overlapping portfolios in agriculture financing. MoFA's letter suggests the Finance Ministry acted unilaterally in approaching the World Bank, catching the agriculture sector off guard despite its direct responsibility for implementing FSRP-funded projects. The sources reviewed do not indicate whether the Finance Ministry has responded to Opoku's letter.
It remains unclear what prompted the Finance Ministry's initial request to exit the programme, as that reasoning was not detailed in the available reporting. MoFA has formally asked the Finance Ministry to review and reverse the withdrawal decision to protect the commitments already made and avoid financial and contractual fallout. A final decision on the withdrawal and its timeline is yet to be determined.
The withdrawal from the FSRP could set back progress on food security in Ghana, which continues to grapple with rising food prices and import dependence. For ordinary Ghanaians, particularly farming communities that rely on government-backed infrastructure to boost yields and reduce post-harvest losses, any disruption to these projects could have significant consequences.
Key points
- The Ministry of Finance's withdrawal from the World Bank's food resilience programme without consulting the Agriculture Ministry puts GH¢643.87 million in farm infrastructure contracts at risk.
- The programme's withdrawal could lead to delayed project timelines, added costs, and possible contractual claims from contractors.
- The disagreement highlights a lack of coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in handling overlapping portfolios in agriculture financing.
