Ghana will share knowledge with neighboring countries to reduce rural poverty

Accra, 28 August 2017 – FAO and Ghana have created a knowledge exchange platform (KEP) for reducing rural poverty to share the national knowledge on rural poverty reduction (programmes and initiatives) with neighbouring countries through South-South Cooperation (SSC) schemes. 

Ghana has recently made great progress in reducing rural poverty and looks forward to share some of their successful experiences that could benefit neighbour countries facing similar challenges as those they have recently overcome. 

“Solutions that work best in one southern country are of greater possibility of working well in another,” said Dr Abebe Haile Gabriel, Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and FAO Representative to Ghana during the launch of this KEP held in a dissemination workshop National Dialogue on Ghana’s South-South Cooperation (SSC) initiatives for reducing rural poverty held in Accra last July. Representatives from several Ministries of Ghana attended the gathering, as well as representatives from relevant national programmes and projects to reduce rural poverty, and other stakeholders.

FAO facilitates this SSC to happen in the newly created KEP thanks to its extensive network and presence. “SSC is a mechanism that ensures mutual benefit for all parties involved in the negotiation, which also promote development of sustainable intra-regional trade,” explained the Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and FAO Representative to Ghana.

“I am of the greatest conviction that the challenges that confront us as society would be more than halved if poverty could be drastically reduced. Ghana had a number of rural poverty initiatives and institutions that have contributed to the successes achieved so far,” said Dr Abebe Haile Gabriel.

Next steps

The launch of the KEP has paved the way to start the knowledge exchange through policy dialogue on the successful Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP). Representatives from other countries, most probably Liberia and Niger, will travel to Ghana to learn about this project and other initiatives intended to tackle rural poverty. Ghana is also expected to deploy GSOP short-term experts in the countries involved to provide training.

Ghana will also join the FAO South-South Cooperation Gateway, a platform designed to exchange information on a wide range of institutions and expertise on food and agriculture in the countries of the global South.

FAO will continue to collaborate with the government of Ghana and institutions dedicated to rural poverty reduction by facilitating knowledge exchange among southern countries. 

The KEPs are a joint initiative promoted by the South-South Cooperation Unit and the Strategic Programme number 3 of FAO dedicated to reducing rural poverty.