Japan is committed to supporting Ghana substantially to achieve food security, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Koji Makino, has said.
Japan, he said, will continue to support Ghana in rice production as part of the Asian country’s effort to help Ghana achieve food security.
Official estimates say Ghana imports between US$200 million and US$400 million worth of rice annually.
The cost of rice imports balloon Ghana’s import bill yearly, putting crippling pressure on the national currency, the cedi.
Due to high local demand for the commodity, especially the perfumed brand, many Ghanaian importers have found rice imports a profitable business enterprise and continue to import from various markets around the globe.
Through Japan’s support, Ghana continues to expand local capacity in rice production – a move that could, in the long-term, help reduce the West African country’s imports.
“Rice is one of the most important staple crops in Ghana and its consumption is quite high,” Mr. Makino said. “We [Japan] are assisting the efforts of the Government of Ghana at ensuring that many small-scale famers across the country are empowered to plant, process and produce rice in commercial quantities. This way, they will be contributing to food security in the country and also improve their own living standards.”
He was speaking in Accra at a ceremony where Ghana and Japan signed an agreement covering a grant requested by the former under the “Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers (2KR)”.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hanna S. Tetteh, signed the 29th April, 2014 agreement for and on behalf of Ghana, whereas Mr. Koji Makino signed for and on behalf of the Government Japan.
Components of JICA
Japan launched the “Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers,” which is generally known as Japanese “2KR (Second Kennedy Round)” Grant program, in 1977 as a scheme for purchasing agricultural machinery and materials to help boost food production in developing countries.
Ghana has been a beneficiary of the programme since 1981. Over the years, the focus of the project in Ghana has been the provision of agricultural machinery to enhance local rice production.
The Japanese Government, under its 2013 budget, provided the Government of Ghana with 70 four-wheeled tractors (with matching implements), 43 power tillers, 35 rice threshers, 20 rice reapers, and 5 rice mills.
These items will be allocated – on hire purchase basis – to underprivileged or small scale farmers in six project areas. They are; Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Ashanti, Volta and Greater Accra regions of Ghana.
Speaking to Citi News, Ghana’s Programs Officer in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development at JICA, Joseph Isaiah Mensah, stated that the agreement was for the year 2013 through to 2014.
The agreement, he said, entitles Ghana to funding which is then used to procure agricultural machinery to support local famers.
“The government of Japan approves requests which it receives. It is an annual request which the government of Ghana submits, to be approved by the cabinet of the Japanese government,” he added.
He said the project has promoted positive bilateral relations between Ghana and Japan, adding: “The relations between the government of Japan and Ghana have been enhanced through the provision of the grant. It has consolidated the relationship between the two countries”.
Project evaluation
Mr. Mensah also spoke about the program’s monitoring and evaluation systems that help ensure value for money.
“We do the monitoring through the agriculture and engineering services directorate,” he said. “After giving this machinery, they (Japanese government) dispatch teams every quarter to the various project sites to monitor how the machinery is being used and whether the farmers are facing problems with the use of the equipment. They then send reports to JICA on how it is being used.”
Mr. Mensah explained, “There are committee and liaison meetings with all the stakeholders who deliberate on a number of issues to monitor the inflow of the funds as well as the performance of the agriculture machinery”.
Officials say, since its commencement, the project has improved the local production of rice and has contributed to giving small-scale farmers sustainable livelihood. It has also helped many local farmers to contribute to promoting food security in Ghana.
By Afua Kesewa Akoto/citifmonline.com/Ghana