Africa Minister urges Ato Forson to reverse Ghana’s withdrawal from World Bank Food Programme

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has asked the Ministry of Finance to reverse Ghana’s withdrawal from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), warning that the decision has placed GHS643.87 million in existing contractual commitments at risk.

In a letter to Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the Finance Ministry’s September 23 request to the World Bank to withdraw Ghana from the programme was made without prior consultation with the Agriculture Ministry.

“The Ministry requests urgent reconsideration of the decision,” the letter signed by Mr Opoku stated.

What Is the FSRP?

The West Africa Food System Resilience Programme was launched in 2022 to address food insecurity and strengthen food system resilience across West Africa. It currently involves eight countries — Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo — alongside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research (CORAF).

Ghana joined the programme’s second phase, which was approved by the World Bank Board in July 2022, with a financing envelope of US125.94 million in financing for Ghana — funded by a combination of International Development Association (IDA) credit and a grant from the Food Systems 2030 Multi-Door Trust Fund — to help the country recover from climate-related agricultural losses and strengthen its food systems.

The programme supports digital advisory services for agricultural crisis management, investments in sustainable food production, and regional food market integration.

GHS643 Million in Contractual Obligations at Risk

MoFA said GHS643,867,633.36 in obligations had already been incurred under the FSRP for ongoing agricultural infrastructure works. Of that amount, GHS520.26 million relates to the IDA credit, while GHS123.61 million relates to the FS2030 Trust Fund.

The ministry warned that withdrawing from the programme without an alternative financing arrangement could force the government to meet the obligations from other resources, potentially resulting in delays, additional costs, or contractual claims.

Irrigation Works and Feed Ghana Programme Affected

MoFA said critical irrigation rehabilitation works at Weta, Vea, Kpong, and selected inland valleys could be affected.

The Kpong Irrigation Scheme Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project, executed under the FSRP, covers approximately 4,040 hectares and is central to the government’s Agriculture for Economic Transformation agenda and the Feed Ghana Programme, which seeks to transition Ghana from rain-fed to year-round irrigation agriculture. In February 2026, a US$22.6 million World Bank-financed rehabilitation at Kpong was modernising irrigation infrastructure across roughly 4,000 hectares, benefiting thousands of smallholder farmers.

The development follows a September 24 directive from the World Bank ordering an immediate pause on activities and procurement financed under the IDA credit and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds.

The World Bank also directed the suspension of tomato seed and micro-irrigation activities under a Norwegian grant.

Several activities under the FS2030 Trust Fund were also halted, including recruitment for the Feed Ghana Brigade, a Network Operations Centre adviser, and a data analyst, as well as further digitisation, farmer registration, and support to the Feed Ghana Secretariat.

MoFA said the stoppages could disrupt implementation of the government’s Feed Ghana programme and delay systems required to register farmers, target interventions, and monitor delivery.

It also warned that the suspension of tomato seed and micro-irrigation support could affect production because delays could cause farmers to miss seasonal planting windows.

“The pause under the IDA credit and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds affects the Ministry’s ability to progress contracted works and planned procurement,” MoFA said.

Pwalugu Project and Broader Implications

The ministry is asking Finance to formally retract its withdrawal notice to the World Bank and seek written clearance for the resumption of the affected activities.

It has also called for the two ministries to urgently reconcile contractual commitments, payments due, and affected activities before engaging the World Bank on an arrangement to protect ongoing works.

MoFA further urged that funding for the Pwalugu project be pursued through an arrangement that does not jeopardise Ghana’s existing FSRP commitments or other affected agricultural interventions.

The Pwalugu Tomato Factory is a key component of the government’s agricultural transformation agenda in the Upper East Region. The FSRP-FarmMate tomato partnership has already yielded 240 tonnes of tomatoes in the Upper East Region, with beneficiary communities including Zebila, Pwalugu, and Navrongo, reducing Ghana’s dependence on tomato imports from Burkina Faso.

Background to the Withdrawal Decision

The Finance Ministry’s decision to withdraw from the FSRP comes amid broader scrutiny of World Bank-funded projects in Ghana. In recent months, Finance Minister Dr Ato Forson has publicly criticised the management of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, alleging that $65 million of funds intended for flood mitigation were misappropriated. The World Bank subsequently disclosed that a withdrawal application of $10.5 million was processed in February 2026, the first project withdrawal since November 2023.

The Agriculture Ministry’s intervention underscores growing tensions between the two ministries over the management of development partner funds and the potential consequences for Ghana’s agricultural modernisation agenda.