The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to reconsider Ghana’s decision to withdraw from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP).
MoFA says the withdrawal could expose the government to contractual commitments amounting to GH¢643.87 million tied to ongoing agricultural infrastructure projects under the programme.
In a letter to the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the decision to request Ghana’s withdrawal from the programme was communicated to the World Bank on September 23 without prior consultation with his ministry.
“The Ministry requests urgent reconsideration of the decision,” Mr Opoku stated in the letter.
According to MoFA, it has already entered into contractual obligations totalling GH¢643,867,633.36 as part of projects being implemented under the FSRP.
The ministry said GH¢520.26 million of the outstanding commitments is financed through the International Development Association (IDA), while GH¢123.61 million comes from the FS2030 Trust Fund.
MoFA warned that without an alternative source of financing, the government could be compelled to settle the existing commitments from other funds.
It said such a situation could affect the implementation of projects, resulting in delays, increased costs and possible contractual claims against the government.
The Agriculture Ministry is therefore calling for an urgent review of the withdrawal decision to protect existing financial commitments and avoid potential legal and contractual complications.
The West Africa Food System Resilience Programme is designed to strengthen food systems, improve agricultural productivity and enhance food security across the region.
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