The French Ambassador to Ghana and his team went to the North of Ghana to strengthen cooperation between France and Northern Ghana, particularly in the areas of agriculture and urban development.
President John Mahama has emphasized on several occasions that Northern Ghana has the potential to become “the country’s breadbasket.” To reach this goal, the government launched the “Feed Ghana” program, to boost national agricultural production, reduce reliance on food imports, and create jobs in agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.
The “Team France” mission, led from April 7 to 10 by Ambassador Jules-Armand Aniambossou and his team, including AFD (French Development Agency) Director Clémentine Dardy, aimed to present two major projects aligned with these objectives.
Their goal: to help Northern regions develop their agricultural production capacities and resilience to climate change, in collaboration with the Ghanaian Ministry of Agriculture.
The AWMP (Agricultural Water Management Project), co-financed by AFD (€5M) and the EU (€40M), seeks to increase productivity and farmers’ income in Northern Ghana by building and rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure.
The BETTER (Better Farming in Northern Ghana) project, also co-financed by AFD (€11M) and the EU (€8M), envisions to improve food security and support an agroecological transition of practices through the strengthening of value chains for various products (shea, vegetables, soybeans, beekeeping products).
A high-level event was held in Wa on April 9, attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Eric Opoku, the Minister of the Upper West Region, Charles Puozing Lwanga, and representatives from other ministries (Local Government, Finance), to present these projects and reinforce their ownership by all stakeholders.
The Team France also met with agricultural partners, including: − The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) in Tamale, a research institute focused on improving agricultural productivity and a women’s cooperative producing shea butter in Tugu, supported by the French microfinance company Advans.
During this trip to the north of the country, Ambassador Jules-Armand Aniambossou also met with the Minister of Education and MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of the Northern Region, John Adolf Ali, and several local chiefs. These meetings offered fruitful discussions on enhancing France–Northern Ghana cooperation.
The mission also provided an opportunity to visit, alongside the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad
Razaaly, the Minister of the Northern Region and representatives of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, the sites of a major urban development project, “Tamale, Resilient City,” as part of a future project to be financed by the EU (€23.4M) and AFD (€5M).
This project is the second phase of the “Sustainable Cities” program. The first phase, funded by the EU (€14.7M) and implemented by Expertise France, essentially aims to strengthen governance in six Northern Ghana cities, including Tamale.
The second phase focuses on Tamale and seeks to enhance resilience to floods and heat waves by improving urban governance and building infrastructure to better manage floods and creating green public spaces.
One of the innovative aspects of this project is that it was designed with strong involvement of local populations and the use of nature-based solutions to improve the quality of the urban environment.
The Team France also visited the Larabanga Mosque, one of the oldest religious and heritage sites in Ghana, whose restoration was supported by French funding.
This mission provided an opportunity to demonstrate France’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Ghana to support the development of the country’s northern regions.
