The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved an additional financing package of 125.94 million dollars to support the second phase of the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), aimed at strengthening Ghana’s capacity to address food insecurity and build more resilient food systems.
The financing comprises an International Development Association (IDA) credit and a grant from the Food Systems 2030 Multi Donor Trust Fund. It is expected to help Ghana replenish resources that were redirected to assist farmers impacted by floods and drought, and to support sustainable intensification of tomato production, a key crop in Ghana’s agriculture value chain.
Specifically, the funding will go toward enhancing digital advisory services to strengthen agricultural and food crisis management. This includes improved access to data on weather patterns, nutrition, and food security, as well as better pest and disease monitoring. It will also promote environmentally sound farming practices that increase the sustainability and adaptive capacity of the food system, thereby reducing vulnerability to environmental and economic shocks.
The program will further promote regional food market integration and cross-border trade, enhancing food availability and affordability across West Africa.
“This additional financing is provided to help Ghana recover from the economic and environmental shocks, while restoring funding for long-term investments needed to strengthen agricultural resilience and reduce vulnerability to future disruptions,” said Abel Lufafa, Practice Manager for Agriculture and Food Security at the World Bank. “It is part of a broader effort to address the rapidly deteriorating food security situation in West and Central Africa.”
Launched in 2022, the FSRP is a regional initiative to improve food security and resilience across West Africa. The program currently includes eight countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as key regional institutions such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research (CORAF).
This latest funding brings the total financing for the program to 1.17 billion dollars.
