Project profile — Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana

• Ghana (100.00%)

• Basic Health: Basic nutrition (12240) (5.00%)
• Agricultural policy and administrative management:
Agricultural policy and administrative management (31110) (28.00%)
Agricultural development (31120) (10.00%)
Agricultural extension (31166) (50.00%)
Agricultural education/training (31181) (3.00%)
Agricultural research (31182) (4.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Climate change mitigation (significant objective)
• Nutrition (significant objective)

The project provides direct funding to the Government of Ghana to improve food security and make the agriculture sector more modern, equitable and sustainable. The project seeks to implement a comprehensive market-oriented approach to farming and to strengthen and modernize agricultural extension services. The project covers the entire country at the national, regional and district levels and is expected to benefit 2.8 million farm households, including many female farmers. Project activities include: (1) delivering agricultural extension services and market-oriented training to farm households, with a particular focus on providing information linked to improved cultural practices and the appropriate use of fertilizers, pesticides, tools and machinery; (2) equipping District Agricultural Departments and Regional Agricultural Departments with extension materials, equipment and logistical support; (3) supporting innovative, demand-driven and market-oriented research to address current challenges being faced by smallholder farmers; (4) updating and reorienting a standardized curriculum for agricultural colleges and farm institutes to be more market-focused, gender-sensitive and climate-smart; and (5) improving the enabling (administrative and legal) environment to facilitate access to local and foreign markets for agricultural production.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased adoption of relevant, productivity-enhancing technologies, which would result in yield increases in maize and rice, and a reduction of post-harvest losses; (2) increased adoption of market-oriented approaches to farm management, which would result in increased volume of produce marketed and agribusiness agreements signed; and (3) increased private sector investments in sustainable agricultural input supply, production, marketing and processing, which would result in increased number of farmers accessing input suppliers, loans, and equity investment to grow their businesses.

Results achieved as of December 2024 include: (1) facilitated the agricultural extension services delivery, reaching 3,944,709 farmers (compared to 1,300,223 in 2023), with women representing 45% of beneficiaries. This was achieved through expanded use of mass media, offsetting reductions in field demonstrations and visits. Extension agents provided guidance across the value chain. This, from pre-planting to agro-processing, packaging, and marketing, and promoted productivity-enhancing and climate-smart agriculture practices and technologies; (2) strengthened farmer organization and market access by connecting 27,131 farmers (38% women) to output markets through innovative platforms (proportion of women increased by 2% compared to 2023); (3) supported women’s economic empowerment, with 31 of 51 women farmer-based organizations receiving assistance for agro-processing equipment installation, training, and operational improvements. This resulted in improved equipment use and production capacity; (4) increased private sector engagement in the agricultural value chain, with the number of registered agricultural input dealers rising by 20%, from 1,227 in 2023 to 1,531 in 2024; and (5) contributed to food security and nutrition outcomes, with reductions in stunting (18% in 2023 to 17.4% in 2024), wasting (6% in 2023 to 5.8% in 2024), and underweight prevalence among children under 5 (12% in 2023 to 6% 2024).

• Proactive disclosure