The Australian government has launched the Africa–Australia Partnership, aimed at boosting climate resilience and fostering agricultural innovation and research collaborations across Africa, with a particular focus on supporting smallholder farmers.

The partnership seeks to provide funding and logistical support to help smallholder farmers adopt climate-resilient practices, strengthen women’s participation and leadership in agriculture and build Africa–Australia research collaborations to enhance research capacity and drive innovation.

Speaking at the launch of the project, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Berenice Owen-Jones, explained that Ghana has long been a focal point.

She stressed that the decision to establish an office in Ghana is intended to promote partnerships and contribute to climate resilience and food security.

She expressed strong conviction that the project will deliver transformative impact and bring substantial benefits to Ghanaian farmers.

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“Ghana has been on the radar of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research for a long time, and now the time has come. We have set up an office here in Ghana for ACIAR.

"The purpose of that office is to encourage partnerships, build exchanges on scientific research for development, and focus on climate resilience, agriculture, and food security. The project is focused on very practical and tangible outcomes and specifically targets smallholder farmers. This is where we believe we can make a real difference in Ghana,” she said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Tree Crop Development Authority, Dr Andy Osei Okrah, expressed optimism, noting that the initiative will serve as a major boost for Ghanaian crop producers.

He added that this would go a long way toward increasing value addition and positioning the sector to strongly support the economy.

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