Ghana Peri-Urban Vegetables Value Chain Project (GPVVCP)

Introduction

The Ghana Peri-urban Vegetables Value Chain Project (GPVVCP) is a subsidiary project under GCAP being funded by a grant of US$2.85 million from the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) through a Trust Fund Arrangement with the World Bank. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) through its Directorate of Crop Services (DCS) with management support and project coordination from the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), and technical support on irrigation from the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA).

Project Objective

The project is closely linked to the Government of Ghana’s strategy for poverty reduction: improving food security by increasing production and market access for vegetable both for domestic consumption and exports. It is also linked to the JSDF objective as it seeks to empower and improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable groups, and anchored on the World Bank Group Country Partnership Strategy which supports the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) and the Governments Agenda for Prosperity.

The Project Development Objective is to improve on the productivity and access to market by the beneficiary vegetable farmers in selected peri-urban communities in Ghana.

The project will promote water harvesting and small-scale irrigation schemes to facilitate an all year round vegetable production and consumption. It will also develop capacity and provide support to enable the resource poor farmers improve productivity and the quality of their produce. It is further to reduce post-harvest losses through the institution of efficient post-harvest handling mechanisms and the facilitation of access to high value markets to ensure appreciable income levels for the farmers.

Development Outcome Indicators

The project is expected to meet the following outcome targets at the end of project implementation;

At least 30% improvement in the yield levels of vegetable crops cultivated by small-holder farmers
At least 20% increase in marketed sales through improved access to high value markets
At least 20% reduction of vegetable post-harvest losses (over current levels) among the participating farmers
At least 20% increment in the income levels of farmers cultivating vegetables under the project
Nine hundred (900) direct beneficiary vegetable producers and other value chain actors (at least 40% of which are women)

Project Beneficiaries

The main target groups are smallholder vegetable producers in urban and peri-urban farming satellite communities listed below;

COMMMUNITY	DISTRICT	REGION
Michel Camp	Kpone Katamanso Municipal	Greater Accra
Angorsikope	Dangbe East	Greater Accra
Hikpo	South Tongu	Volta

The Kwabenya (Ghana Atomic Energy Commission) project site has been cancelled due to the scope of interventions of the GARID project which has the potential to cause displacement of current farmers. Angu has also been cancelled from the list of project sites, due to the lack of interest from the entrepreneur (B-BOVID).

New Project Site: The project has followed up on a request from a vegetable farmers association in the Asokwa Municipal Assembly of the Ashanti Region. The project has undertaken a reconnaissance visit to the site and proposes to implement the following activities: (1) construction of cleaning shed and washrooms, and (2) linkage to a Productive Partnership Entrepreneur (PPE).

Project Components

The project is organized into four components to address specific aspects of vegetable production to meet the project development objectives.

Component 1: Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems Development

The objective of the component is to improve the existing small scale riverine irrigation systems for the resource poor farmers in the selected farming communities which are bounded by perennial water bodies with high potential for irrigation farming. The component will address the characteristic seasonality of vegetable production and thus to empower the resource poor farmers to improve their productivity for increased earnings. Under this component, the project will construct pack houses and washrooms for beneficiary farmers to enable them clean and add value to their produce in order to earn improved incomes. The washrooms will give an assurance of quality of produce for the higher end markets and facilitate the obtaining of Green Label Certification.

Component 2: Farmer Capacity Development and Support for Productivity Improvement

The aim of this component is to facilitate the adoption of modern and improved production techniques through sustained farmer capacity development and other support systems. The component will design and implement an intensive farmer capacity development program to ensure that farmers have the know-how and adopt modern vegetable production and post-harvest handling techniques to be able to improve their productivity and output. Both workshop based and field based training including Farmer Field School approaches will be adopted for the farmer capacity development. Training areas will include productivity improvement technologies, appropriate use of chemicals and pesticides, agribusiness management, farm management and farm record keeping, accounting and financial management, post-harvest handling, etc. Relevant themes under the Ghana Good Agricultural Practices (GHANA GAP) will be incorporated into the farmer training program.

Component 3: Improving Post-Harvest Handling and Market Access

This component seeks to contribute effectively to reducing extreme poverty among vegetable growers and to develop and coordinate the vegetable value chain through support to producers’ organizations to enhance their productive capacity and competitiveness and to develop market linkages. The grant will support farmers to enter into productive partnership arrangements with agriculture entrepreneurs who are already well-established in the market and have market linkages with supermarkets and restaurants as well as the farmers.

Component 4: Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Knowledge Management

This component would support all activities necessary to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with the project implementation manual. The project will be implemented jointly by the Directorate of Crop Services DCS) of MOFA, and the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP). GCAP will leverage on the expertise of its Project Implementation Unit to provide management and project coordination in accordance with World Bank guidelines. The project will also document the methodologies and processes, achievements, experiences and lessons learnt and share these widely using all available means of communication including the World Wide Web.

Status of implementation/achievements

Construction of Irrigation Infrastructure

Procurement processes for contractors for the first two sites (Michel Camp and Angorsikope) were completed in January 2020 with the selection of Messrs Ben Amanka Enterprise as contractor for Michel Camp, and Messrs PROFCON Ltd. for the Angorsikope project site. The contractors were introduced to the respective project sites by the end of January, and they mobilized to site and stated work by the middle of February.

The irrigation intervention at Michel Camp includes construction of concrete lining of the existing main earth canal, laying of spray tubes to irrigate uplands, and the installation of a solar pump to provide water for the uplands. The intervention at Angorsikope includes installation of solar pumps to pump from the river to the overnight reservoir, and from the overnight reservoir to the farms; laying of pipes from overnight reservoir to farms, and laying of spray tubes within the farms.

Michel Camp Project Site

At Michel Camp, the contractor has cleared the sides of the existing earth canal (which was dug by farmers) and excavated a new canal path and started lining the canal with concrete. The contractor excavated a temporary canal to provide water for the farmers while they worked on the main canal. A sump has also been excavated and lined to collect water for pumping to the uplands. Trenches have also been dug for the laying of pipes for provision of water to the uplands. The contractor has procured and started laying pipes, but has been unable to complete due to the shutdown of the business of the suppliers of the pipes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project engineers have also inspected the dam wall with the military and identified trees that need to be removed to preserve the integrity of the dam wall. The removed trees will be offset at an agreed location within the catchment. As at March 30, 2020, the contractor had completed 45% of the works, plans to complete by mid-May 2020, barring any uncontrollable events.

Hikpo Project Site

Bids for the Construction of Small Scale Irrigation System at Hikpo has been evaluated, and the Tender Evaluation Report has been submitted to Entity Tender Committee for approval. The Entity Tender Committee is however not meeting - due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The contract will be signed after the ETC meets, and works will commence subsequently.

Pumps

Bids have been received and evaluated for pumps for the irrigation system at Michel Camp. Approval is however pending due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The project expects approval from the Entity Tender Committee after the restrictions. Requests for Quotations (RFQs) are ready for pumps for Angorsikope and Hikpo, but are yet to be issued – due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The project expects to make progress on these activities after the lockdown is terminated.