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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $18.8 million grant to the Government of Ghana for the implementation of the Regional West Africa Resilient Rice Value Chains Project.<\/p>\n
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The project, known as REWARD, is aimed at increasing domestic rice production, improving market systems and reducing Ghana\u2019s reliance on imported rice.<\/p>\n
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AfDB said the initiative will support climate-resilient rice production, improve access to quality inputs and mechanisation, and expand irrigation and land development in key production areas.<\/p>\n
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Agriculture remains a major part of Ghana\u2019s economy, supporting livelihoods and contributing to food security. However, domestic rice output has not kept pace with rising demand, leaving the country exposed to imports and global price volatility.<\/p>\n
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The project will focus on selected districts in Ghana\u2019s Northern Savannah Ecological Zone, an area with strong agricultural potential but where productivity is constrained by climate risks, weak infrastructure and limited market integration.<\/p>\n
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The initiative will also support the modernisation of rice processing facilities, strengthen links between farmers and markets, and encourage greater private-sector participation across the rice value chain.<\/p>\n
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AfDB Country Manager for Ghana Halima Hashi said the project would help build a stronger and more competitive local rice sector. \u201cThis project will help strengthen Ghana\u2019s rice value chain by increasing productivity, improving market access, and supporting agribusiness development,\u201d Hashi said.<\/p>\n
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Hashi said the investment would also support wider development outcomes. \u201cBy investing in climate-resilient agriculture, the initiative will contribute to food security, job creation, and more inclusive economic growth,\u201d Hashi said.<\/p>\n
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The REWARD project forms part of broader regional efforts to reduce dependence on food imports and build more resilient agricultural systems across West Africa.<\/p>\n
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By improving productivity and supporting agribusiness development, the project is expected to create opportunities for farmers, processors, traders and other businesses along the rice value chain.<\/p>\n
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The investment comes at a time when many African countries are seeking to strengthen food sovereignty, cushion households from global food price shocks and expand local production of staple crops.<\/p>\n
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AfDB said the project will help Ghana improve competitiveness in the rice sector while supporting rural incomes and long-term food security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41473,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-41470","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Ghana has secured $18.8 million from the African Development Bank to strengthen rice production, improve food security and create agricultural jobs.","published_date":"","news_description":"Ghana has secured $18.8 million from the African Development Bank to strengthen rice production, improve food security and create agricultural jobs.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41472,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41470\/revisions\/41472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=41470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}