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Ghana - EU sign Eight Million Euro
Agreement
Accra, Nov. 23, Ghanadot/GNA - Ghana and the European
Commission on Friday signed two financing agreements
totalling eight million Euros (9.6 million Ghana Cedis) to
support programmes in the Cocoa sector and the Ghana Police
Service.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Mr Filiberto
Ceriani Sebregondi, Head of the European Commission in Ghana
signed the agreements.
Under the deal, an amount of five million Euros will be used
to execute programmes to improve the livelihood of
smallholder cocoa farmers and to ensure sustainability of
cocoa production in the country.
Ghana Cocoa Board will implement the first component aimed
at improving farmer's access to high quality hybrid planting
material while the second and third components would be
implemented by the sustainable Tree Crops Programme, a
consortium bringing together chocolate industry, producers,
researchers, government agencies and conservation people.
It will involve intensified extension services to cocoa
farmers through participatory training, methods and tools,
address the environmental and social impacts of cocoa
production and support the replanting of hybrid cocoa
varieties in former cocoa growing areas.
The remaining three million euros will be used to enhance
the capacity of the Criminal Investigation Department of the
Ghana Police Service to enable it to deal effectively with
crime.
As part of the programme, the Forensic Science Department of
the CID will be rehabilitated and equipped with state of the
art equipment, including an Automated Fingerprint
Identification System to enable it undertake various types
of analysis.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said government had made significant
investment to improve the capacity and operations of the
security apparatus, especially to maintain peace and
security.
He said the Police Service would recruit and train more
Ghanaians as police officers to improve the police-citizen
ratio.
On Cocoa, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the project would address the
environmental and social impacts of cocoa production,
strengthen the management capacities of existing and
emerging cocoa farmers and community-based organisations.
Mr Sebregondi said the support in the cocoa sector would
help reduce income vulnerability and thereby improve
livelihoods in line with Ghana's will to improve
competitiveness, foster growth and become middle-income
country.
He said the support to the Police would help Ghana deal
effectively with the fight against drug trafficking, illegal
trade and immigration.
GNA
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