Bonifiche Ferraresi Invests $100M to Enhance Food Security in Ghana

On 5 August 2024, the Italian firm Bonifiche Ferraresi (BF) officially launched its agricultural project in Ghana. The Project is based on a Public-Private Partnership (#PPP) model and managed to attract EUR 90 million (USD 98.5 million) in Foreign Direct Investment (#FDI).

The Ceremony was attended by BF Ghana Chairperson Georges Mikhael, Italian Ambassador Daniela Orlandi, and Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Food & Agriculture Frimpong Addo, as well as the Battor Area Traditional Chief.

The Project is located in Aveyime-Battor in the district of North Tongu in the Volta region of Ghana. Initiially, the Projects involves 5,000 hectares which will be used for the cultivation of various crops such as rice, maize, soja, wheat, tomatoes, bananas and so on.

Eventually, BF expects to enlarge the area under cultivation up to 25,000 hectares. The agricultural produce will be first destined for the domestic consumption in Ghana. The excess can then be processed and prepared for export.

“We believe that Ghana can greatly benefit from the expertise, know-how, technology, and equipment of Italy to develop and transform its natural resources in order to foster Local Value Addition (#LVA) and to enhance its #FoodSecurity.”

Italian Ambassador in Ghana Daniela Orlandi

The Project in Ghana follows another agreement regarding another similar agricultural project worth EUR 420 million (USD 455 million) in Algeria. Some 36,000 hectares will be prepared mostly for the cultivation of wheat which can then undergo value-addition into pasta by Best Foods, a subsidiary of BF SpA.

The Italian ambassador in Ghana, Daniela Orlandi, underscored that this Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) from Italy is in line with the #MatteiPlan which was outlined during the Italy-Africa Leaders Summit in January 2024 (#IALS2024) and further promoted at the G7 Summit in June 2024.