GHANA – The Ghanian Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), in collaboration with the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), has commissioned 100 hectares of land for the construction of a rice seed cultivation complex at Dawhenya, Ghana.
Dubbed “The Project of Increasing Agricultural Productivity Through Irrigation Infrastructure Modernization in Accra, Ghana,” this initiative is part of the broader K-Ricebelt program.
The project was officially launched in November 2023 with the signing of a USD US$7,800,000 grant agreement between the MAFRA and MoFA in tandem with the Korea Rural Community Corporation and the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) as the administrative implementation bodies for the project.
This program aims to establish rice seed cultivation complexes in ten African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Gambia, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone.
At the launch event, Mr. Park Kyong Sig, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Ghana, highlighted the support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), which is providing Ghana with USD 28 million this year.
Additionally, another institution has extended a USD 2 billion loan to the Ghanaian government. Ambassador Park emphasized the critical role of the new irrigation facility in enhancing rice production.
“We need blood in our body; rice needs water to grow,” he remarked, underlining the importance of proper irrigation for rice cultivation.
The Korea Partnership for Innovation in Agriculture (KOPIA) has already contributed 330 tonnes of high-yielding rice seeds to MoFA.
KOPIA will also share its expertise in rice cultivation and provide the necessary materials for the project.
Mr. Yaw Frimpong Addo, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, noted that this initiative aligns with phase two of the Planting for Food and Jobs program, a government effort to bolster food security.
He pointed out that using solar-powered pumps to irrigate the fields would significantly reduce the cost of water supply, thus benefiting farmers economically.
Deputy Minister Frimpong encouraged farmers to utilize the provided seeds effectively to ensure the project’s sustainability and benefit other farmers in the future.
He also mentioned that a dedicated annual budget would support the project even after its initial phase ends.
Recently, the government of Korea launched a US$27 million rice development project to boost rice production and aid Ghana’s quest to achieve national food security under the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Programme (WEFP) for Better Lives for Rural Development project in Ghana.
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