World Bank Increases Support for Ghana-Funded Projects

Company News of Friday, March 29, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-03-29

Mr. Hafez Ghanem, Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, expressed the wish to strengthen support for projects funded by the World Bank Group in Ghana, particularly social projects focused on reducing poverty. poverty.

"We will be very pleased to increase our support for social intervention programs in Ghana as new demands come to us. This is essential because these are the types of projects we want to support. We want to support more people, especially women from poverty, "he added.

Dr. Ghanem gave badurances on Wednesday during a media interview in Akuse, Greater Accra region, during an on-site visit of some Bank Group-funded projects. in Ghana.

Dr. Ghanem, Mr. Henry Kerali, Director of the Africa Region of the World Bank Group for the Africa Region and his entourage visited Rosh Pinnah Farms, a project of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) , sponsored by the World Bank Group.

WAAPP / WAAPP is a two-phase, ten-year program. The first WAAPP / WAAPP concerns three countries: Ghana, Mali and Senegal.

The World Bank supported the first phase of the program in Ghana with $ 15 million from 2007 to 2012, while the second phase, from 2013 to 2017, was funded to the tune of $ 60 million.

The priority products for WAAP that, in 2006, were identified by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Council for Agricultural Research and Development of West and Central Africa, identified the roots and tubers, livestock, rice and cereals as the products contributing the most to the growth and agricultural production of the region.

Dr. Ghanem and the team were impressed by the progress of the programs, saying that the World Bank was an institution with the aim of helping countries to fight poverty, hence the need for Support.

He encouraged program officials to work in a concerted effort to improve the well-being of the less fortunate in society, especially smallholders.

The team visited Vegpro Ghana Limited, a leading agribusiness company that produces "maize corn" in Fodzoku, in the Volta region, mainly for export to the European market.

Dr. Ghanem and the team inspected the plantations of his projects funded in the region and were satisfied with the series of works.

The team briefly visited the Akosombo Volta River Authority for an overview of its activities.

Mr Augustine Danquah, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for WAAPP, said the initiative had resulted in the dissemination of four high-yield cbadava varieties suitable for Ghana's major agro-ecological zones. can be pounded while the others were good for processing into different products.

Gareth Wikie, Vegetation General Manager at Vegpro Ghana Limited, said the soil and temperature in the area were also conducive to planting vegetables and flowers.

He added that the company needed to increase its production capacity because it was weak because of the lack of work on the weekends.

Dr. Ghanem arrived in Ghana on Sunday, March 24 to begin a three-day mission visit. He paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to discuss macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary policies and highlight investment opportunities in education and finance. digital economy in full swing.

He then met with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the Minister of Finance, other state ministers and Central Bank Governor Ernest Addison for in-depth discussions on sectoral issues.

Dr. Ghanem On March 26, participated in a series of dialogues of CSOs and African Parliaments linking 15 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and published a report from the World Bank entitled Taking Advantage of Parity – Unlocking the Potential of women entrepreneurs in Africa.

This is Ghanem's first visit to Ghana since becoming Vice President in 2018.

The active portfolio of the International Development Association in Ghana includes 21 projects covering all major sectors, including energy, transport, education, water and sanitation. All World Bank commitments amount to $ 1.731 billion, of which approximately 66 percent has been disbursed.

Ghana is also participating in a regional education project.