Mr Mark Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister, on Friday, said Northern Ghana needed a holistic and radical investment to speed up its development.

He said even though the poverty situation in the country had since 1992 improved from 51.7 per cent to 39.5 in 1999 and further to 28.5 in 2006 the five ecological zones had not felt much of the significant reduction, especially among food crop farmers who constitute 46 per cent of the population.

Mr Woyongo said this when he addressed UN Agencies in Bolgatanga comprising the FAO, WHO. UNDP, UNFPA, WFP, UNIDO, and UNAIDS. At the meeting were top SADA officials, Ministers and Economic Planning Officers of the five Northern Ecological Zones constituting Volta, the Northern parts of Brong Ahafo, Upper East and West and Northern Regions.

The meeting aimed to explore opportunities for further expansion of UN assistance towards addressing key priorities of regional development and strengthening the capacity for implementing district development plans.

Other areas that need investment include irrigation and water management technologies, tree crop plantation, horticulture, livestock production, agro processing and road network to open up production zones.

He said there was also need the for increased investments in education and health infrastructure, water, sanitation and disaster preparedness, rural electrification infrastructure and special focus on food and income security as well as safety nets.

Ms Rugby Sandhu Rojan, UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana , said if special attention was not given, significant progress in poverty reduction to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could be linked to the national standard whilst the pace in the five regions under SADA remained slow.

She said the UN would focus on its existing partnership and continue to work in its four thematic areas which she highlighted as food security and nutrition; sustainable environment; energy and human settlement; human development, and productive capacity; for improved social services and transparent and accountable governance.

She also expressed worry over increased problems of food security, malnutrition and maternal and child mortality and said the UN was working on strategies to bring improvements.

The team visited project sites in Sapeliga in the Bawku West District where a community- based milling and fortification project is ongoing.

The team visited Naba Asigri Abugrago Azorka II, Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Council and also looked at small ruminant projects in some communities.