The Food and Agriculture Ministry has appealed to the Finance Ministry to rescind Ghana’s planned pullout from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme, cautioning that GHS643.87 million worth of signed contracts could be jeopardised.
In correspondence addressed to the Finance Minister, the sector ministry disclosed that the September 23 notice sent to the World Bank seeking to leave the initiative was issued without engaging MoFA beforehand.
The letter, endorsed by sector minister Eric Opoku, called for “immediate reconsideration” of the move.According to MoFA, commitments totalling GHS643,867,633.36 have already been locked in under the FSRP to cover ongoing agric infrastructure projects.
The breakdown shows GHS520.26 million tied to the International Development Association financing window, with the remaining GHS123.61 million linked to the FS2030 Trust Fund.
The ministry cautioned that abandoning the programme without securing replacement funding would compel the state to settle the liabilities from other budget lines, exposing it to possible holdups, cost overruns and claims from contractors.
It noted that major irrigation rehabilitation schemes at Weta, Vea, Kpong and some inland valley sites stand to suffer.
This comes in the wake of a September 24 instruction from the World Bank for an outright halt to all works and procurement supported by the IDA facility and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds.
The Bank further ordered a freeze on tomato seed and micro-irrigation interventions financed through a Norwegian grant.A number of FS2030 Trust Fund engagements were equally suspended, among them hiring of personnel for the Feed Ghana Brigade, engagement of a Network Operations Centre consultant and a data analyst, alongside additional digitisation, farmer enrollment and backing for the Feed Ghana Secretariat.
MoFA fears the interruptions could derail the Feed Ghana agenda and stall platforms needed to capture farmer data, direct support and track performance.
It further warned that stopping tomato seed and micro-irrigation assistance could hit output, as affected growers risk missing key planting seasons.“
The freeze on IDA and Trust Fund-backed operations limits the Ministry’s capacity to advance awarded contracts and scheduled procurements,” the ministry stated.
MoFA is therefore pressing the Finance Ministry to formally withdraw its exit notification to the World Bank and obtain written approval for activities to resume.
It has additionally proposed urgent talks between the two ministries to align on existing contract obligations, outstanding payments and impacted interventions before re-engaging the Bank on measures to safeguard ongoing projects.
The ministry also advised that financing for the Pwalugu project should be structured in a manner that does not undermine current FSRP obligations or other affected agric programmes.
