The Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to reconsider the country's withdrawal from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme. The withdrawal, which was notified to the World Bank on September 23, may expose existing contractual obligations valued at GH¢643.87 million to serious financial and operational risks. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has therefore called for the withdrawal notice to be formally rescinded and for urgent discussions to be held with the World Bank to restore the affected activities.
According to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, contractual obligations amounting to GH¢643,867,633.36 have already been incurred under the programme in connection with agricultural infrastructure and other ongoing interventions. Of the total commitment, GH¢520.26 million is associated with financing from the International Development Association, while another GH¢123.61 million is linked to the FS2030 Trust Fund. The ministry cautioned that abandoning the programme without putting an alternative financing arrangement in place could leave the government responsible for settling the existing obligations from other public resources.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture warned that the suspension of activities could lead to delays in project execution, increased costs and possible contractual claims against the state. Among the projects potentially affected are critical irrigation rehabilitation works at Weta, Vea and Kpong, together with interventions in selected inland valleys. These projects form part of the broader FSRP framework, which aims to strengthen Ghana's food systems, improve resilience to agricultural shocks and enhance the capacity of farmers and food system actors to withstand disruptions.
The FSRP is a joint regional initiative involving the World Bank and institutions including the Economic Community of West African States, the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development. Ghana is participating in the second phase of the programme, which focuses on strengthening food system resilience, agricultural productivity, market integration and preparedness against food insecurity.
The World Bank has instructed an immediate suspension of activities and procurement being financed through the IDA credit and Recipient Executed Trust Funds. Activities involving tomato seed distribution and micro irrigation support under a Norwegian grant were also ordered to stop. The suspension has further affected a number of activities financed through the FS2030 Trust Fund, including recruitment for the Feed Ghana Brigade and engagement of a Network Operations Centre adviser.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has urged the Finance Ministry to formally withdraw the notice communicated to the World Bank and seek written authorisation for the affected activities to resume. The ministry has also proposed an urgent reconciliation between the two ministries covering contractual commitments, outstanding payments and programmes affected by the suspension before Ghana engages the World Bank on a financing arrangement capable of protecting projects that are already underway.
The dispute over the programme places renewed attention on the coordination of Ghana's agricultural financing commitments, particularly where externally financed projects have already progressed to the contractual and implementation stages. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has called for funding arrangements for the Pwalugu project to be pursued separately in a manner that would not undermine Ghana's existing obligations under the FSRP or jeopardise other agricultural interventions currently being implemented.
Key points
- The Ministry of Food and Agriculture's appeal to the Finance Ministry aims to prevent GH¢643.87 million in contractual obligations from being exposed to financial and operational risks.
- The withdrawal from the FSRP may lead to delays in project execution, increased costs and possible contractual claims against the state.
- The FSRP is a joint regional initiative involving the World Bank and other institutions to strengthen food system resilience and agricultural productivity in West Africa.
