BY DANIEL BAMPOE
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has formally asked the Ministry of Finance to reconsider Ghana’s withdrawal from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), warning that the decision could expose existing agricultural projects and contractual commitments valued at GH¢643.87 million to funding uncertainty.
In a letter to Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the Finance Ministry’s decision to request Ghana’s withdrawal from the World Bank-supported programme on September 23 was taken without prior consultation with MoFA.
The Finance Minister’s action has escalated the frosty relationship between him and the Agriculture Minister.
The Agriculture Ministry has therefore called for the withdrawal request to be formally reversed and for discussions to be reopened with the World Bank to protect projects already under implementation.
MoFA’s position comes at a critical point for a programme that was designed to strengthen Ghana’s food systems, improve agricultural resilience and support farmers and agricultural value chains.
GH¢643.87m already tied to ongoing works
According to MoFA, the financial implications of the decision extend beyond future projects because substantial contractual obligations have already been incurred under the FSRP.
The ministry put the total value of those obligations at GH¢643,867,633.36.
Of that amount, approximately GH¢520.26 million is associated with the International Development Association (IDA) credit, while another GH¢123.61 million relates to the FS2030 Trust Fund.
MoFA warned that abandoning the programme without an alternative financing mechanism could leave the government responsible for meeting existing obligations from other sources.
The ministry said such a situation could result in delays to ongoing works, additional costs and possible contractual claims.
Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku consequently requested an urgent reconsideration of the Finance Ministry’s decision.
“The Ministry requests urgent reconsideration of the decision,” the minister said in the letter.
Irrigation projects among interventions at risk
One of the major concerns raised by MoFA is the possible impact on agricultural infrastructure currently being implemented under the programme.
The ministry specifically identified irrigation rehabilitation works at Weta, Vea and Kpong, together with selected inland valley projects, as interventions that could be affected if the financing arrangements are not restored.
These projects form part of the broader FSRP interventions aimed at strengthening Ghana’s productive agricultural base.
The official FSRP programme information shows that the programme supports interventions including the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, inland valleys, climate-smart agriculture, seed production and tomato support, among other agricultural resilience initiatives.
The Kpong Irrigation Scheme, in particular, has been identified as an important agricultural production area. Earlier in 2026, the Finance Ministry and the World Bank visited the scheme in connection with efforts to increase rice production and advance Ghana’s food-security objectives. The FSRP programme says the scheme supports smallholder rice farmers around Asutsuare and Akuse and also serves other agricultural and aquaculture activities.
World Bank pauses activities
The dispute follows a September 24 directive from the World Bank ordering an immediate pause in activities and procurement financed under the IDA credit and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds, according to the Agriculture Ministry’s account of events.
The World Bank also directed the suspension of tomato seed and micro-irrigation activities being supported through a Norwegian grant.
MoFA said the consequences have extended to several activities under the FS2030 Trust Fund.
Among those affected are recruitment processes for personnel for the Feed Ghana Brigade, a Network Operations Centre adviser and a data analyst.
The ministry also said further digitisation work, farmer registration and support to the Feed Ghana Secretariat had been halted.
Feed Ghana implementation could be affected
MoFA has linked the financing disruption directly to the implementation of the government’s Feed Ghana programme.
The ministry said the suspended activities include systems and processes needed to register farmers, target agricultural interventions and monitor implementation.
According to MoFA, delays in those systems could affect the government’s ability to properly identify beneficiaries and track the delivery of support under its agricultural programme.
The suspension of tomato seed and micro-irrigation activities has also raised concerns over the timing of agricultural production.
MoFA warned that delays could cause farmers to miss seasonal planting windows, potentially affecting production.
The concern is significant because the FSRP’s Ghana programme specifically identifies tomatoes, alongside rice, maize, soyabeans and poultry, among the priority agricultural value chains receiving support
What the FSRP was established to achieve
The controversy has brought renewed attention to the purpose of the World Bank-backed programme and the scale of activities attached to it.
The West Africa Food System Resilience Programme was established through collaboration involving the World Bank and ECOWAS to strengthen food-system resilience across participating West African countries.
In Ghana, the programme is implemented through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Its stated objectives include increasing preparedness against food insecurity, strengthening resilience in food production and distribution, improving the productive base and developing agricultural markets.
The programme covers areas including digital agricultural advisory services, food-crisis monitoring, climate-smart agriculture, irrigation, seed production, market infrastructure, warehouses and agricultural value chains.
The programme is also intended to benefit farmers, aggregators, traders and other actors across targeted value chains.
A report of Parliament’s Finance Committee previously recommended approval of a US$150 million financing agreement between the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Finance, and the International Development Association of the World Bank to finance the second phase of the programme.
The committee’s report said the programme was expected to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen food systems and help Ghana respond to food-security risks.
The programme’s own Ghana platform similarly describes FSRP as a World Bank-funded initiative being implemented through MoFA, with interventions spanning irrigation, agricultural technologies, market infrastructure and priority value chains.
MoFA wants Finance to reverse withdrawal notice
Against this background, the Agriculture Ministry has proposed specific steps to resolve the impasse.
First, it wants the Finance Ministry to formally retract its withdrawal notification to the World Bank.
Second, it wants Finance to obtain written clearance from the World Bank for the resumption of activities that have been suspended.
Third, MoFA has called for an urgent reconciliation between the two ministries concerning existing contractual commitments, outstanding payments and projects affected by the financing interruption.
The Agriculture Ministry wants that reconciliation completed before the government engages the World Bank on an arrangement capable of protecting ongoing agricultural works.
MoFA has also raised the issue of financing for the Pwalugu project.
The ministry wants funding arrangements for the project to be pursued separately in a manner that does not jeopardise Ghana’s existing commitments under the FSRP or disrupt other agricultural interventions currently supported through the programme.
The demand effectively places the focus on finding a financing structure that can address the government’s broader agricultural infrastructure priorities without leaving existing FSRP commitments exposed.
