The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has urged the Ministry of Finance to reconsider its decision to withdraw Ghana from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), warning that the move could disrupt ongoing agricultural infrastructure projects and other interventions.
In a letter dated September 28, 2026, and addressed to the Minister of Finance, MoFA said it had been informed of a September 23 letter from the Ministry of Finance to the World Bank seeking the withdrawal of the programme.
MoFA said the decision was taken without prior consultation with the ministry and called for the notice to the World Bank to be formally withdrawn.
According to MoFA, the government has outstanding contractual commitments under the FSRP amounting to GH¢643.87 million.
The ministry said GH¢520.26 million of the amount relates to the International Development Association (IDA) credit, while GH¢123.61 million is associated with the FS2030 Trust Fund.
MoFA said withdrawing from the programme would not automatically extinguish the government’s obligations under contracts already entered into.
It warned that, without an alternative financing arrangement, government could be required to meet the outstanding obligations from other resources, potentially resulting in delays, additional costs or contractual claims.
Agricultural infrastructure at risk
The ministry said ongoing rehabilitation works on irrigation infrastructure, including projects at Weta, Vea and Kpong, as well as selected inland valleys, could be affected by the withdrawal.
MoFA also said it had received directions from the World Bank, dated September 24, 2026, instructing the FSRP Project Implementation Unit to immediately pause activities and procurement financed through the IDA credit and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds.
According to the ministry, the World Bank’s directions also included the suspension of several activities financed under other components of the programme.
These include the procurement and execution of tomato seed and micro-irrigation activities under the Norwegian grant.
The World Bank also directed the suspension of recruitment for an embedded adviser to the Ministry’s Network Operation Centre for the Feed Ghana Programme, the Feed Ghana Brigade and a data analyst under the FS2030 Trust Fund.
Further activities relating to digitisation, farmer registration and support to the Feed Ghana Secretariat were also ordered to be stopped, according to MoFA.
Concerns over Feed Ghana Programme
MoFA said the suspension of the activities could affect the implementation of the government’s Feed Ghana Programme, particularly activities involving farmer registration, digitisation, data analysis and coordination.
The ministry further said delays to tomato seed and micro-irrigation interventions could affect agricultural production because of seasonal planting windows.
It said the suspension of ongoing works and procurement could also have implications for the completion of contracted projects and the government’s financial obligations.
Call for urgent engagement
MoFA is therefore asking the Finance Ministry to rescind the decision to withdraw from the FSRP and formally retract the notice sent to the World Bank on September 23.
It also wants the two ministries to engage the World Bank and obtain written clearance for the resumption of affected activities, procurement, recruitment and programme support.
The Agriculture Ministry said the Bank-directed pause should remain in force until the necessary clearance is obtained.
It further proposed that the two ministries urgently reconcile all contractual commitments, payments due and activities affected by the withdrawal and engage the World Bank on an arrangement to protect ongoing works and restore implementation.
On the Pwalugu project, MoFA said financing should be pursued through an arrangement that would not jeopardise existing FSRP commitments or other affected agricultural interventions.
The ministry called for an urgent engagement between the relevant authorities, saying this would help ensure that the state’s contractual obligations are honoured and prevent further disruption to the Feed Ghana Programme and the agricultural sector.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
