{
  "id": 15634069,
  "title": "Dr Jasaw calls for national agriculture development fund to strengthen climate resilience",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/dr-jasaw-calls-for-national-agriculture-development-fund-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T17:55:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/dr-jasaw-calls-for-national-agriculture-development-fund-to-strengthen-climate-resilience/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, MP for Wa East and Chairman of Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee, has urged the creation of a National Agriculture Development Fund. This initiative aims to bolster agricultural financing, bolster climate resilience and ensure that resources benefit farmers and communities exposed to climate risks. Jasaw contended that Parliament must assume a pivotal role in formulating institutions responsible for agricultural financing, stressing the significance of sustainable funding arrangements that complement national development priorities. During his deliberations at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, he highlighted the role of parliamentary oversight in converting financing commitments into practical investments.\n\nJasaw advocated for a National Agriculture Development Fund as a mechanism to allocate resources towards agricultural development while preserving Ghana's control over investment priorities. The CVF-V20 was identified as a potential collaborator in exploring financing options for this fund, with the emphasis on protecting national ownership while expanding access to resources. He emphasized that the fund's financing arrangements should shield smallholder farmers, women, and young people from being sidelined in the opportunities generated by agricultural investments.\n\nStrengthening agricultural financing must be accompanied by investments in essential infrastructure, including irrigation, feeder roads, storage facilities, and local processing capacity. Jasaw highlighted the importance of integrating water, roads, storage, processing, skills, and markets to ensure that agriculture investments yield tangible economic benefits for farming communities. He cited instances from Wa East, where irrigation infrastructure alone may not yield desired outcomes without suitable roads for transporting produce to markets, and how protecting shea trees without developing local processing facilities could leave women bearing the brunt of the labor while accruing the majority of the economic value elsewhere.\n\nFurthermore, Jasaw underscored the necessity of preparing for climate-related shocks, particularly drought, which could result in diminished agricultural production, heightened food imports, and pressure on foreign exchange reserves. He advocated for finance and agriculture authorities to carry out pre-season stress tests to ascertain the necessary measures should agricultural production plummet abruptly. He emphasized that Parliament should mandate these authorities to conduct such stress tests, ensuring the availability of essential agricultural inputs and services when agricultural output declines sharply.\n\nJasaw urged the CVF-V20 to engage parliamentary committees during the development of financing proposals, offer options for specific national investments, and facilitate the exchange of experiences among climate-vulnerable nations. He proposed that Parliament could support implementation through legislation, budgetary oversight, local evidence, and political continuity, aiding in the identification of obstacles before they result in delays.\n\nUltimately, Jasaw argued that agricultural financing should be evaluated based on its practical impact on farmers, particularly whether funding arrives within critical planting seasons, infrastructure remains operational after construction, and resilience measures generate income for communities confronting climate risks. For his constituents, the crucial test is whether finance arrives within the season, whether the investment functions after its completion, and whether the resilience measures generate income for communities grappling with climate risks.",
  "summary": "The Wa East MP and Chairman of Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw has called for the establishment of a National Agriculture Development Fund to strengthen agricultural financing, improve climate resilience and ensure that resources reach farmers and communities exposed to climate-related risks.",
  "key_points": [
    "Dr. Jasaw proposes National Agriculture Development Fund to strengthen climate resilience.",
    "Fund aims to allocate resources for agriculture while maintaining Ghana's control over investments.",
    "Parliament's role emphasized in formulating institutions for agricultural financing."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}