United States to increase development assistance to the north

Freshly harvested rice

THE United States (US) government is increasing its development assistance to Northern Ghana over the next five years.

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Gene Cretz, who made this known, said this gesture was part of a broader strategy by the US government to contribute significantly to poverty reduction and to create economic opportunities for communities in the north.

He however cautioned that in the long term, trade, and not aid, was the more sustainable path to economic transformation in the north due to what he termed as the north’s “strategic opportunities for economic growth and investment.”

Ambassador Cretz spoke to journalists during a working tour of the Northern Region, which was to enable him assess at first hand the impact of US-assisted development interventions in the region.

He noted that most of the US’ development interventions were concentrated in the three regions of the north as a result of the poverty situation vis a vis the economic opportunities inherent in that part of the country.

Ambassador Cretz (middle) receiving briefing

The ambassador mentioned that the US, through President Obama’s flagship food security initiative – Feed the Future – was co-financing the construction 18 new 50-tonne warehouses in the north to improve grain storage and sales.

He said the US was also supporting interventions in water, sanitation, nutrition and skills training for the youth.

He projected that by the end of 2017, US investments and development interventions in the north would have reached a value of $200million.

Among the places that the ambassador visited was Bontanga in the Kumbungu district, which is one of the areas that the US is making an impact through its Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) program, funded through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under this project, a number of big marketing companies and industries have been brought on board to support farmers who farm on the irrigated lands of the Bontanga Irrigation Scheme to produce rice according to market specifications.

Botanga Irrigation Scheme

This had ensured that the farmers get the necessary assistance in terms of machinery, inputs, technical assistance and funds and there is also a guaranteed market for their produce.

One of the farmers, Mr Sule Alhassan said there were about 600 farmers currently farming on the catchments of the dam.

He said although the ADVANCE project had contributed a lot to improving the business of farming in the area, the farmers could still produce more with adequate support in terms of machinery, input supplies, pest and disease control and milling facilities for processing.

The Ambassador also visited the Gunda Grains Warehouse, which is one of a number of warehouses being established with funding from the USAID and through the Ghana Grains Council.

These warehouses are expected to help reduce post-harvest losses and operate the warehouse receipt system, where farmers deposit their grains upon receipt of the necessary documentation.

This system allows the farmers to aggregate their grains in safe warehouses and use these grains as collateral for loans. It also makes it easy for farmers to combine their grains and sell it to big marketing companies.

According to Ambassador Cretz, these projects are expected to contribute positively to the transformation of the north.