The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is urging the Ministry of Finance to urgently rescind its decision to withdraw Ghana from the World Bank-funded West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), warning that the decision could destabilize ongoing projects worth more than GH¢643 million.
In a letter to Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku said the withdrawal request, submitted to the World Bank on September 23, was made without any engagement with his ministry, raising concerns about coordination and the potential fallout on critical agricultural investments.
According to MoFA a total of GH¢643.87 million in contractual obligations has already been committed under the programme. This includes GH¢520.26 million financed through the International Development Association (IDA) credit and GH¢123.61 million tied to the FS2030 Trust Fund.
The Agric Minister cautioned that exiting the programme without securing alternative financing could expose government to significant financial risk, including delays in project execution, additional costs, and possible contractual claims from contractors.
Key infrastructure projects likely to be affected include irrigation rehabilitation works at Weta, Vea, Kpong and several inland valley schemes, all considered critical to boosting year-round agricultural production.
The situation escalated following a September 24 directive from the World Bank ordering an immediate pause on all activities and procurement financed under the IDA credit and related trust funds.
The suspension has also halted tomato seed distribution and micro-irrigation interventions funded through a Norwegian grant, raising fears of reduced output if farmers miss critical planting windows.
Besides, several operational components under the FS2030 Trust Fund have been put on hold, including recruitment for the Feed Ghana Brigade, key technical roles such as a Network Operations Centre adviser and data analyst, as well as ongoing digitisation and farmer registration efforts.
MoFA further warned that these disruptions could undermine the government’s Feed Ghana programme, particularly efforts to build a reliable farmer database, improve targeting of interventions, and strengthen monitoring systems.
“The pause under the IDA credit and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds affects the Ministry’s ability to progress contracted works and planned procurement,” the letter stated.
MoFA is urging the Finance Ministry to formally reverse its withdrawal notice to the World Bank and secure written clearance for the resumption of all suspended activities.
It also wants both ministries to urgently reconcile all outstanding contractual commitments, payments due, and affected interventions before reopening discussions with the World Bank on a way forward that protects ongoing investments.
The Agric Ministry further stated that any alternative financing arrangements for projects such as Pwalugu must be pursued without undermining existing commitments under the FSRP or disrupting other critical agricultural interventions.
