Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says an amount of GH₵1 billion has been allocated to the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) to implement the Economic Enclaves Project (EEP).

The Economic Enclave Project which is part of the Ghana Care Programme seeks to create a viable ecosystem for the private sector to engage in commercial farming to significantly expand Ghana’s productive capacity in rice, tomato, maize, soya, vegetables, and poultry.

According to the Finance Minister, investing in the sector will complement the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs II initiative.

Reading the 2024 Budget, he said “To implement the Economic Enclaves at scale and speed, GHC1 Billion has been allocated to Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) to complement the PFJ II.”

He explained that this funding will be dedicated to providing infrastructure, including irrigation, and canals, as well as clearing and developing land for private sector actors in the EEP.

Again, the Finance Minister added that other interventions under the GhanaCARES programme such as the completion of Foundry will benefit from this funding.

Meanwhile, the Minister said the three enclaves which were already operational that is Kasunya in the Greater Accra, Kumawu in Ashanti, and Banda in the Oti Region will lead to the production of 160,000mt of rice by the end of 2024 over 110,000 acres of land in cultivation for the key staples.

This, he said is targeted at creating at least 5,000 jobs for the youth adding that already “ten private sector actors have responded to the expression of interest to predominantly act as anchor farmers on the developed lands.”

He stressed that “We are also using the EEP to leverage catalytic financing from key partners including MasterCard and the African Development Bank.”