IFAD cancels Ghana's 12 million dollars debt

Mr Lennart Bage, President of the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) would arrive in Accra on Sunday to begin a three-day official visit to Ghana.

The visit coincides with Ghana's IFAD week to commemorate the organization's 25th anniversary.

A statement announcing the visit said on Friday that IFAD has granted Ghana a debt relief of 12 million dollars under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative.

IFAD has also since 1980 financed 12 projects in Ghana, more than in any other country in the region, totalling 137 million dollars.

A statement issued in Accra on Friday by Ann Manikowska, IFAD Communication Officer, said the goal of IFAD's investments in Ghana was to reduce household food insecurity and rural poverty by boosting food production and increasing the incomes of the rural poor.

The statement said to achieve its goal IFAD had been working in the poorest regions of the country including the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions.

IFAD also concentrates its effort on the most vulnerable populations, which includes rural agriculture producers, migrant farm workers, settlers and traditional fishermen, disadvantaged women and the unemployed youth.