Japanese grant to aid flood victims

Story: Boahene Asamoah

Japan has given Ghana a GH¢5.9 million grant facility to support food aid as a result of the recent floods in the country.
The grant was part of the Japanese government’s response to the government’s request for support as a result of the flood disaster that hit the country, especially northern Ghana, last year.
The multi-purpose grant would enable the government of Ghana to import foods such as rice and sell it on the local market. The proceeds from the sale of the rice would then be used to undertake other social development programmes in the country.
At a signing ceremony between the two countries, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Ellen Serwaa Nee-Whang, said the grant had once again showed that Japan was a good friend of Ghana.
She said the grant would go into rice procurement to support the anticipated food shortages as a result of the floods.
She recounted Japanese assistance in food aid, dating back to 1973, to support the country and mentioned that since 2005, that policy had changed to include support for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the form of irrigation construction to support rice cultivation, as well as to encourage rice production in the country.
The Charge d’ Affairs of the Japanese Embassy, Mr Yutaka Nakamura, said the food aid was a multi-purpose one, adding that monies raised from the sale of the rice could be used to purchase the much needed grains such as maize to meet the needs of the people of the Northern Region.
He said agriculture was the main industrial activity in Northern Ghana, which should play a leading role towards a vibrant Africa.
Japan, Mr Nakamura said, had been assisting Ghana with agriculture through promotion of domestic rice as well as provision of agricultural machinery.
He used the opportunity to announce that the Japanese government would host the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) under the theme “Towards a Vibrant Africa: A Continent of Hope and Opportunity” this year as it chairs the G-8 Summit.