Project profile — Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana

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 2021 include: (1) facilitated 4,442 agricultural extension agents in completing 825,968 farm and home visits, reaching a total of 4,936,086 farmers (compared to 1,300,223 farmers visited in 2016). The agents guided the farmers through the various elements of the value-chain, from pre-planting to agro-processing, to packaging and marketing; (2) increased the number of farmers in commodity-based farmer groups from 87,932 in 2016 to 505,140 farmers in 2021; (3) supported regional and district departments of agriculture in linking 478,841 farmers (of which 39% women) to traders/aggregators and processors; (4) provided support leading to a total of 3,424 students (of which 992 women) completing or starting the new market-oriented, gender-sensitive and climate-smart training curriculum. This training took place in five agricultural colleges, which train potential future agriculture extension agents and future entrepreneurs; (5) contributed to the 8.4% agricultural growth rate recorded in 2021, which has translated into an adequate self-sufficiency ratio of major staple food crops; and (6) improved farmers’ livelihoods, including through enhancing their ability to pay their children’s school fees, construct and rehabilitate family houses, acquire assets, expand farm operations and establish commercial shops to diversify their income sources.