International Ghanaian Model Victoria Michaels

Rice farmers in three northern regions of Ghana will now have access to additional funding, thanks to the newly launched $75 million fund secured by the SNV Netherland Development Organisation. The $75million fund which SNV acquired from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (FinGAP) will help to boost commercial rice production locally.
FinGAP is a five-year funding intervention programme set up by the USAID to facilitate support for rice, maize and soya production. It was created to address constraints that restrict the development of commercial agriculture.
Since it launched, it has provided funding for 1,700 farmers and processors, with rice manufacturers the major benefactors.
Northern Ghana contributes up to 80% of the Ghana food basket and for the local market, comprising of major crops like yam, cassava, maize, millet, sorghum, rice, groundnuts, beans etc, while livestock species produced cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and pigs.

Northern Ghana has about 7 million hectares of arable land 70% available for agricultural production. Agriculture accounts for 90% of household incomes. The land is generally flat with soils which are predominantly lateritic with less than 0.5% organic matter, thus making the soils inherently poor in fertility. This situation is aggravated by very harsh and unfavourable climatic conditions of short and erratic rainfall patterns. This has led to a consistent decline in agricultural productivity and a widespread poverty over the years, especially in rural communities