South Korea has committed $6m to supporting agricultural co-ops in Ghana over the next four years. Ghana, on west Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, is home to 2,000 registered agricultural, industrial, financial and service co-operatives. The agri-co-ops cover production and marketing, poultry and livestock, fishing and food processing.
The initiative was proposed in 2014 by Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and Ministry of Food and Agriculture, as part of a national effort to enhance employment opportunities and agricultural development.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) and the ministries held consultations, and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two governments in May.
Ghana and Korea are now establishing a joint implementation body, and a new cooperative bill is expected to be passed to provide an effective institutional framework.
The project will be implemented in the northern, upper east and upper west regions of Ghana on a pilot basis, with Korean project managers heading out in September to work with their local counterparts.
In July, a 14-member Ghanaian delegation visited Hansalim Cooperative Federation, a farmer-based co-operative south of Seoul, in preparation for the programme.
Mr Cho Wan-hyung, managing director of Hansalim, said from the experience of the federation, there was the need for policy makers in the agriculture sector to develop the sector. It was also important for managers of the sector to ensure food self sufficiency, he added.
AUTHOR: Rebecca Harvey