U.S. Government Investment in Ghana’s Upper West Region Tackles Poverty among Subsistence Farmers

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub, has awarded a $1.2 million co–investment grant to Warc Group, a social enterprise with agricultural production and consulting operations in Ghana and Sierra Leone, to help smallholder farmers in Ghana’s Upper West Region. The company’s subsidiary, Warc Ghana, will use the funding and $5.9 million in leveraged resources and capital to launch the “The New African Farmer: Regenerative Agriculture in Ghana” partnership. USAID’s partnership with Warc Ghana through the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub will give 20,000 farmers easier access to quality seeds, modern machinery, and training.

Smallholder farmers in Ghana’s Upper West region are the backbone of their communities and have the potential to earn increased incomes while contributing to the country’s economic growth. Unfortunately, many live in poverty, which is worsened by a lack of quality seeds, modern machinery,and training in good agricultural practices. In addition, these farmers often lack access to markets outside of their communities or the financing needed to secure vital resources.

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USAID/Ghana Acting Mission Director Janean Davis notes,“USAID is co–investing in this partnership because it will utilize a proven service delivery unit (SDU) model to shift 20,000 smallholders in Sissala East, Sissala West, and Wa East from subsistence to commercial farming and link them with regional and international markets. Helping to break the poverty cycle in northern Ghana will ensure a more resilient Ghana.”

The SDUs offer smallholder farmers bundled services that include improved maize and soybean seed varieties, fertilizer, crop protection materials and application services, and land preparation services. The smallholder farmers can choose which type of bundled services to purchase and repay Warc Ghana in cash or in cash–equivalent commodities after the harvest season. Extensive hands–on training in climate smart agricultural practices and crop yield monitoring is provided for free to all smallholders using the SDUs.

Warc Ghana expects to increase farmers’ yields from 2 to 4 metric tons per hectare for maize and 1.5 to 2.5 metric tons per hectare for soybean through the use of SDUs, training, and additional support.

“The use of SDUs to boost smallholders’ crop yields and their incomes has already proven successful in theSavannah and Bono East regions where we operate, as well as Sierra Leone, where we have supported over 10,000 Sierra Leonean farmers since 2011,” said Cathrin Schriever, Head of Projects with the Warc Group. “We are confident that this USAID–backed partnership will contribute to agricultural and food security in Ghana’s Upper West Region.”

The partnership will also prove key to strengthening economic growth and trade. It’s estimated that by 2024, crops generated by 20,000 participating smallholders will generate $4.76 in annual exports from Ghana. It will also have a strong gender and youth focus:50 percent of beneficiaries will be women and 50 percent youth. To ensure success,Warc Ghana has established a consortium of partners to offer additional resources and expertise, including Corteva, Tata/John Deere, Valmont, the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois, and the Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation at Texas A&M University.