World Bank To Increase Support For Funded Projects In Ghana

Dr Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank Africa Vice President, has expressed desire to increase support for World Bank Group funded projects in Ghana, particularly social projects that focussed on poverty reduction.

“We will be very happy to increase support for social intervention programmes in Ghana, as and when more request come. This is critical 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 the assurance on Wednesday in an interview with the media in Akuse, in the Greater Accra Region during a site visit of some of the World Bank Group’s funded projects in Ghana.

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

WAAPP is a two-phase, 10-year Adoptable Programme. The first of WAAPP involves three countries – Ghana, Mali and Senegal.

World Bank supported the first phase of the programme in Ghana with an amount of 15 million dollars from 2007 to 2012 while the second phase, from 2013 to 2017, was supported with 60 million dollars.

The priority commodities for the WAAP which has the International Food Policy Research Institute and West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development in 2006, identified roots and tubers, livestock, rice, cereals among others as the commodities that make the greatest contribution to the region’s agricultural growth and production.

Dr Ghanem and the team were impressed with progress of the programmes, stating that, the World Bank was an institution with the objective to help countries to fight poverty, hence the need for the support.

He encouraged managers of the programme to work in a concerted effort to improve the well- being of the less privileged in society, especially small holder farmers.

The team visited Vegpro Ghana Limited, a leading agro firm that produces ‘baby corn’ in Fodzoku, in the Volta Region mainly for export in the European market.

Dr Ghanem and the team inspected the farm plantations of its funded projects in the area and was satisfied with the spate of work.