Government and the African Development Fund (ADF) on Thursday signed a loan agreement to support the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) project.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance, signed on behalf of the Government, while Dr Yero H. J. Baldeh, Ghana Country Manager of the African Development Bank, signed on behalf of the African Development Fund.
The loan is a concessionary facility of UA27.86 million (equivalent to US$39.01 million) from the African Development Fund to finance the Savannah Zone Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP).
The project will be implemented over a five-year period from 2018 to 2022.
The development objective of the project is to transform agricultural value chains for food and nutrition security, job creation within the Savannah Zone.
Also, its specific objectives include increasing farmers’ food and nutrition security; increasing incomes through increased agricultural productivity and diversification, enhancing the creation and strengthening of agribusinesses to increase incomes of actors along selected value chains in a sustainable basis.
The project has four main components namely Crop Productivity Improvement Component, Value Chain and Agribusinesses Development Component, Infrastructure Development Component Project Coordination, as well as Management and M & E Component
It is expected to directly benefit about 50,000 economically active smallholders living in the savannah zone.
It will also contribute to the input support programme of the Ministry of the Food and Agriculture that would reach about 250,000 people.