Sungsoo Kim addressing the gathering
South Korea Ambassador to Ghana, Sungsoo Kim, has disclosed that his country has decided to support Ghana with a grant of $6.18 million through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The development of Farmer-Based Cooperatives and Farmer-Based Organizations (FBCs/FBOs) in Northern Ghana is funded by government of the Republic of Korea through KOICA, which intends to improve the living conditions of rural farmers in the three regions of the north.
The project, which is being implemented in collaboration with Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and Department of Cooperatives, began in 2017 with a grant of $6,180 to be disbursed over a 42-month period.
The FBC/FBO comprise six major components, which are Cooperative Policy Advisory, Training of Trainers (TOT), Training of FBC/FBO leaders (TOL), Overseas Invitational in Korea, Networking and Marketing Support and support for pilot projects.
The envoy called on stakeholders to show commitment in reducing poverty and improving livelihood in the three regions of the north.
“I hope that the living conditions of farmers will improve by the time the project would be phased out in 2020.”
He appealed to all relevant stakeholders, particularly the government of Ghana, to resource institutions with direct management and oversight over cooperative development.
Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, pledged to create jobs for the growing population, particularly those in the rural areas.
The minister said the high unemployment among the youth has almost become a national security issue.
He expressed the hope that the Cooperatives Bill currently being revised would be passed into law as soon as possible to regulate the cooperatives sector.
Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, commended the Republic of Korea and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for their support in the Northern Region.
From Eric Kombat, Tamale