IMANI Reveals Mismanagement of $2.4m Donor Funds in Ghana’s Agric Project
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
A new audit report by IMANI Africa has revealed major lapses in the management of a $2.4 million climate-resilience cassava project, raising concerns about how donor funds are applied in Ghana’s agricultural sector. Despite using nearly 96 percent of its budget, the initiative known as the PROVACCA Project, failed to deliver several high-impact components that were central to its design.
The findings were presented at Tang Palace in Accra as part of IMANI’s forum on “Enhancing Governance and Accountability for Climate Adaptation and Energy Transition in Ghana’s Mining Industry.” Lead researcher, Dennis Asare, who conducted the expenditure verification and outcome assessment, described the project as one where “significant spending did not translate into meaningful results.”
The PROVACCA Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), was designed to reduce climate-related risks in cassava production between November 2012 and December 2017. Financial records show that GEF disbursed $2,394,283 out of the $2.5 million grant, representing a 95.77 percent utilization rate. However, the Government of Ghana fell short of its counterpart funding commitment, contributing only $66,722 of the pledged $315,000, or just 21.18 percent.
According to the report, the project struggled primarily because several of its most capital-intensive components were either abandoned or delivered in non-functional form. A key objective was to build a biogas and gasification plant to convert cassava waste into cleaner energy, thereby reducing wood fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. The biogas plant was abandoned early on, and resources were diverted to a gasification plant. Yet the gasification facility was delivered late with equipment that did not meet required specifications.
“For instance, instead of a 3.6-meter mechanized roaster as indicated in the design, the vendor supplied a 2.0-meter roaster. Since its installation, the facility has remained idle and abandoned from 2017 to date,” the report disclosed.
Other critical activities also failed to materialise. A vulnerability assessment essential for mapping climate risks and designing community-level interventions, was never conducted. Planned water-harvesting installations for two pilot communities were not procured. The project’s agroforestry component, intended to promote climate-smart landscapes, was also abandoned.
Despite these shortcomings, IMANI’s assessment acknowledges a number of successes, particularly in the distribution of climate-resilient cassava varieties and farmer training on improved agronomic practices. Beneficiaries reported significant increases in yield. One farmer noted, “Previously, we could harvest about one tricycle per acre, but the varieties provided under the PROVACCA project give more than twice the output of the previous variety.” Another farmer in Techiman said yields had increased from 10 bags per acre to about 22 bags under the new varieties.
However, IMANI concludes that these gains while valuable, were overshadowed by high-cost failures in the project’s infrastructure and climate-energy transition components. The think tank argues that Ghana lost substantial value, as the project’s most transformative interventions absorbed significant funds without delivering the intended environmental or technological impact.
The findings reignite long-standing concerns about accountability in donor-funded agricultural and climate projects, particularly where procurement, oversight, and monitoring systems are weak. IMANI recommends stronger supervision, transparency mechanisms, and penalties for non-performance to protect future investments.
