The World Bank has approved $500 million in financing for the Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project (GMACP), a major initiative aimed at improving rural road connectivity, strengthening agricultural value chains, expanding economic opportunities, and creating short-term jobs in rural communities across the country.
Poor road conditions and inadequate maintenance have long constrained rural livelihoods in the country, limiting market access, increasing transport costs, and contributing to significant post-harvest losses.
The project seeks to address these challenges by rehabilitating and maintaining critical feeder roads in selected regions, improving all-season connectivity between rural production areas and key markets, and enabling farmers to reach buyers more efficiently.
It is also expected to support farmers in transitioning into higher-value agricultural activities while creating employment and income-generating opportunities along agricultural value chains.
“This project will improve access to markets and opportunities for rural communities while strengthening Ghana’s agricultural competitiveness and resilience,” said Robert Taliercio, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“It will directly benefit more than 550,000 people, including approximately 350,000 farmers, 250,000 women and 310,000 youth. It is also expected to generate more than 5,000 direct jobs and over 25,000 indirect jobs through civil works and road maintenance activities,” he added.
The GMACP, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, will support the rehabilitation and maintenance of more than 1,000 kilometres of rural roads across four clusters covering the Upper West, Northern, Savannah, Oti, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono and Western regions.
These areas are major producers of key food crops, including maize, rice, yam and cassava, which are critical to the nation’s food security but are often hindered by poor transport links and limited market access.
Improved all-season road access is expected to reduce transport costs, shorten travel times, improve supply reliability and open larger markets to smallholder farmers.
This, in turn, is expected to reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen agricultural value chains, contribute to lower food prices and enhance food security.
The project also incorporates climate-resilient infrastructure designs to ensure that roads and drainage systems can withstand climate-related risks over the long term.
Sustainability remains a central component of the initiative. The project will support the operationalisation of the Road Maintenance Trust Fund (RMTF) and introduce performance-based contracts for road maintenance.
It will also provide technical assistance to strengthen institutional capacity and help ensure that rehabilitated roads remain functional and well-maintained long after project completion.
A Daily Guide Report