The European Union (EU) and the German government have formally concluded their Resilience Against Climate Change (REACH) project in Northern Ghana, wrapping up a six-year initiative that reshaped agricultural infrastructure across roughly 200 communities in the north of the country.
A closing ceremony was held in Wa in the Upper West Region, where officials from the EU, the regional administration, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) reviewed the programme’s contribution to rural livelihoods and food security since its launch in 2020.
Paulina Rozycka, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development at the EU Delegation to Ghana, said the programme formed part of the EU’s broader commitment to climate-resilient agriculture in the north.
“Climate change does not respect borders, and its effects are felt most by those who depend directly on the land,” she said.
Among the most tangible outcomes of the programme was a 200-metre irrigation canal constructed in the Duori community, drawing water from a local dam to support cultivation across about 100 acres. Around 100 households now grow vegetables including cabbage throughout the year, a shift that was impossible before the dry season cut off all farming activity.
In the Duang community, a solar-powered cold storage facility capable of preserving up to 10 tonnes of vegetables annually was installed, allowing farmers to store tomatoes, okra, green pepper, and onions and sell when market prices are most favourable rather than accepting distressed prices at harvest.
The programme also rehabilitated the Babile Agriculture Station in the Lawra District into a functioning training hub, now equipped with a 12-bed hostel, a 15-acre conservation agriculture demonstration site, three solar-powered mechanised boreholes, and a set of tractors and conservation farming tools. More than 1,000 farmers and extension officers have already received training there.
REACH was implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the EU-Ghana Agriculture Programme (EUGAP) and co-financed by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The programme operated across 14 districts covering all 11 municipal and district assemblies in the Upper West Region, as well as communities in the Savannah and North East Regions.
Although the programme has officially closed, the infrastructure and facilities will continue to be managed by local communities, district assemblies, and MoFA, with officials describing the handover as a model for sustainable development partnerships in the region.
