(Ecofin Agency) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) granted the Ghanaian government a $39 million loan, through the African Development Fund (ADF), to support the Savannah Zone Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAZAPIP). The document was signed last week by Ken Ofori-Atta (photo), Ghanaian finance minister and Yero Baldeh, AfDB’s head in Ghana.

With an estimated cost of $56.5 million, the project aims to transform agricultural value chains and contribute to job creation in the region which remains one of Ghana’s poorest zones.

It will run from 2018 to 2022 and will focus, among others, on boosting the production of food crops such as rice and maize as well as developing the value chains and agro-businesses in the zone.

Once implemented, the project should reach about 50 000 small-scale farmers and create 20 000 jobs.

It is important to note that this initiative is in line with the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) campaign which aims to improve agricultural productivity and production through five pillars: seeds, fertilizers, marketing, extension services and e-agriculture.

Espoir Olodo