AfDB announces $20m for climate resilience project in Ghana

In Ghana, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has announced a $20 million grant to the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), a program for a climate action project to support women-led farmers’ associations and micro, small and medium enterprises in Ghana’s agricultural sector.

The AFAWA Ghana project is designed to provide affordable and innovative financial products and services for women to adopt technologies and practices that will enhance the resilience of agro-ecosystems and agricultural production.

The project also seeks to protect women and communities against climate risks such as drought and flooding in the Savannah agro-ecological zone of Ghana.

The AFAWA program aligns with Ghana’s Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending project, with support from the African Development Bank.

Concessional financial products and services through the AFAWA program will help women in savannah regions to access solar irrigation systems and modern processing technologies to help improve value addition, diversification, productivity and profitability.

According to AfDB’s statement, the AFAWA program will educate women in agro-processing on renewable energy systems, such as off-grid solar and biogas technology.

Firewood, charcoal and other biomass-based energy account for more than 90% of energy resources women use for agro-processing, contributing to deforestation and carbon emissions.