By Daniel Kondor

A matching grants scheme, set up by Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) in 2014, provides direct funding to investors who seek to establish new businesses or improve existing ones, in order to maximise production.

Under it, an investor is given a grant of between 20 and 80 per cent of the project cost, while they provide the remainder. The scheme especially supports investors to rehabilitate and or construct storage and processing facilities so as to ease the outgrowers’ marketing and financing activities.

There had been a first batch of 31 beneficiaries of the grants so far – 22 in the SADA Zone and nine in the Accra Plains. The 22 nucleus farmers in the SADA Zone have been allocated a total of US$5.9m for their work, including support for outgrowers. As at the end of September this year, US$5.1m being 87 per cent of the approved amount had been disbursed. In the Accra Plains, US$3.08m being 84 per cent of the approved amount of US$3.67m for the nine nucleus farmers has been disbursed too, in the same period.

A second batch of six competitively selected nucleus farmers is being supported to cultivate about 2,000ha of rice in the Nasia-Nabogo Inland Valley (NNIV) in the Northern Region. The first pilot phase of about 480ha of rice is currently under cultivation under a nucleus-outgrower arrangement. For every 100ha of land developed 60ha is allocated to outgrowers with priority given to project affected persons. During this cropping season (2016), 385ha out of the 480ha were cropped with an expected yield of 1,733 tonnes valued at GHS2.2m. Harvesting has begun and some of the nucleus farmer have an off-taker, Avnash at Nyankpala near Tamale to buy their paddy rice for processing.

The outgrower support has been significant then. It has come in the shape of small irrigation systems, water reservoirs, electricity supply, access roads, warehouses, solar-powered boreholes, drying-floors and capacity-building. Outgrowers have also received improved seeds, agro-chemicals, fertilisers, and education and training in safeguards policies.

In the 2014-2015 farming season, 3,277.25ha of land was developed for 24 nucleus farmers who supported more than 5,936 in the Accra Plains and SADA Zone. Nucleus farmers in the SADA Zone alone supported as many as 5,832 of this number, 2,327 of them women as GCAP strives for gender parity in commercial farming. For the period, about 5,380ha of maize was cultivated, yielding 1.50 tonnes per hectare. For rice, about 1,767ha was developed, giving a yield of 1.87 tonnes per hectare. Soya saw a yield of 1.99 tonnes per hectare, from 1,084ha cultivated.

These are a sampling of the productivity GCAP’s matching grants are achieving. Many more nucleus farmers and outgrowers in the SADA Zone which covers the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, northern Brong-Ahafo, and northern Volta Regions, and in the Accra Plains which comprises the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta Regions, are tilling the country’s soil with the grants.

Irrigation

The country’s agriculture has been mainly rain-fed, which has not helped production much. Under GCAP’s auspices, the country’s four major irrigation schemes – Kpong, Kpong Left Bank in the Accra Plains; Tono, Vea in Upper East – are set for rehabilitation and modernisation. They will supplement the rains to give farmers enough water all year.

Three engineering firms – WAPCOS Ltd, BRLi and SMEC International – are currently doing engineering designs for the rehabilitation works. SMEC International is on the Tono and Vea dams, while WAPCOS Ltd and BRLi are handling the Kpong projects.

Challenges

But there are challenges GCAP is working hard to address. It is negotiating with a number of contract farmers who grow and sell improved seeds to help stem the incidence of late and sometimes inadequate supply of quality seeds. Farm Service Centres, due to be set up soon by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, will adequately meet such challenges, including the lack of tractors to plough fields. GCAP also properly resolves and documents land disputes that occur between landowners and investors. A Grievance Redress Mechanism is in place to enable stakeholders – nucleus farmers, outgrowers, landowners and host communities – to handle their concerns, questions and complaints.