6 Bodies receive grants to execute projects in northern regions
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) has signed an agreement under which six organisations will be given grants to execute projects aimed at improving food security and sustainability in the three northern regions.
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They are Bonstech Sustainability and Management Experts, Simli Aid, Presbyterian Agric Services, the Farmer Training Centre, the NOFTIN Foundation and the Foundation for Integrated Strategic Development.
The organisations will received a total of GH¢3,385,344.90 to enable them to facilitate the projects, which will include capacity building and research.
The sector Minister, Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, initialled it for the ministry, while representatives of the various organisations signed on behalf of their entities.
The agreement is part of the eight-year project, known as the Food Security and Environment Facility (FSEF) funded by the Canadian government at an estimated CDN$14,300,000.
The project, which began in 2008 and was expected to be completed in May 2016, is aimed at supporting non-governmental organisations, research and private sector institutions to explore innovative ways to improve food security, as well as to improve the environment in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
The project is divided into two components: Food security, agricultural productivity and income, as well as agriculture sustainability and natural management.
By the end of the project, Mr Oppong-Fosu said, there would be increased use of innovative approaches to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture in the regions.
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Achievements
So far, he said, the project had made some positive impact by improving agricultural production in the various communities.
For instance, the project had reduced the hunger period in some beneficiary communities from four months to one month, he said.
He added that the Zai method, which was introduced to improve maize yields, had increased the harvest of maize from three bags per acre to eight bags per acre.
Mr Oppong-Fosu expressed the gratitude of the ministry to the Government of Canada for its support for the development of Ghana over the years.
The Counsellor for Development at the Canadian High Commission, Dr Cheryl Gopaul Saikali, said she was pleased with the 2013 FSEF annual report which outlined the success made over the past year.