A five-year project is being initiated by the Savannah Agricultural Improvement Programme (SAPIP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with a $32.53 million grant from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Ghana to boost food production and addressing key constraints in the agriculture value chain in Northern Ghana.

Dubbed ‘Savannah Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme (SADEP), the project is expected to contribute to the government’s industrialisation agenda, support Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ), skills development and entrepreneurship for women and youth, and build resilient food systems in the north.

The project interventions would include producing over 8,000 acres of crops, 50,000 guinea fowls, 50,000 broilers, and 50,000 layers as initial input for commercial poultry production, in accordance with the government subsidy policy.

At least, 5,000 women-headed households in vulnerable communities would be supported with 50,000 guinea fowls with each household receiving 10 birds for rearing to enhance farm income and household nutrition.

Overview of the Project

Giving the overview of the project at the launch in Tamale, the National Project Coordinator of SAPIP, Felix Dramani, explained that the project sought to build on successes under the SAPIP and Savannah Investment Programme (SIP) that have so far expanded the production of maize and soybean from 80 hectares in 2018 to 14,000 hectares in 2021. “Inputs such as fertilisers and seeds will be provided to commercial farmers and their out-growers to boost local production of rice, soybean and maize,” he said.

Mr Dramani added that 20,000 jobs would be created under the project and it was expected that 40 per cent of those jobs would go to women and the youth. He stated it would be implemented in nine districts in the five regions of the north and would go a long way to address key constraints in food security and the poultry and livestock feed industry.

Minister Commends AfDB

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, lauded the AfDB for the continuous support which is transforming the agricultural sector and the lives of the people.

The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops explained that the overall objective of the SEDAP project is to ensure national climate-resilient food and nutrition security, create employment and contribute to industrialisation.

The Country Manager of AfDB, Eyerusalem Fasika, on her part, explained that the project is designed to help the government mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian/Ukraine war.

“We believe that prioritising key agricultural value chains in different agro-ecological zones of Ghana will create the platform and support needed to catalyse investment, and unlock Ghana’s potential for transformation.”
Eyerusalem Fasika

The country manager noted that the country has the technologies, private sector and the youth to achieve food sovereignty and develop innovative flagships to make sure that stakeholders, especially smallholder entrepreneurs, women and youth are not left behind.

Ms Fasika iterated her outfit’s commitment to continue to support the agricultural sector to help ensure food security.