The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has urged the Ministry of Finance to reverse Ghana’s withdrawal from the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), warning that the decision could put GH¢643.87 million in existing contractual commitments at risk.

In a letter to the Finance Minister, 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 MoFA.

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

MoFA said it had already incurred GH¢643,867,633.36 in contractual obligations under the FSRP for ongoing agricultural infrastructure projects.

Of the amount, GH¢520.26 million relates to financing from the International Development Association (IDA), while GH¢123.61 million is linked to the FS2030 Trust Fund.

The Agriculture Ministry cautioned that withdrawing from the programme without putting an alternative financing arrangement in place could leave the government responsible for settling the outstanding commitments from other sources.

According to MoFA, this could have implications for the implementation of the ongoing projects, including potential delays, additional costs and contractual claims.

The ministry is therefore seeking an urgent review of the decision to withdraw from the programme to safeguard the commitments already made and prevent possible financial and contractual consequences.

The West Africa Food System Resilience Programme is aimed at strengthening food-system resilience and supporting agricultural productivity and regional food security.