The project funded by the Norwegian Government, Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCal) Facility and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) through the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development was initiated to serve as a storage facility for farming communities in the Municipality.

 The construction of the warehouse formed part of the UNCDF’s Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility project geared towards promoting green and climate resilient local economics in Ghana by applying circular economy and climate smart agriculture principles and solutions to local development pathways. The warehouse which is expected to be used for the aggregation and storage of farm commodities including maize has among other things been provided with a Patio (an adequate drying platform) for proper grain handling and drying purposes to help in the maintenance of the quality of the farm produce as well as a borehole for the provision of water for the farmers.

In an address delivered on his behalf, the Municipal Chief Executive for the Effutu Municipal Assembly, Alhaji Zubairu Kassim thanked the donors and pledged to supervise to ensure the adequate use of the facility to benefit the Effutu people. According to him, post- harvest losses endured by farmers continued to be the bane militating against the growth of the agricultural sector and the livelihoods of farmers in the Municipality. He intimated that, post- harvest losses had been a perennial challenge confronting farmers in the area and was confident that the provision of the storage facility would be a panacea to reducing to the barest minimum the canker to enable farmers maximize the fruits of their labour.

The MCE expressed optimism that the construction of the storage facility would offer a sigh of relief to farmers in Effutu and its adjoining communities. He admonished the hard farmers in the Municipality who were the direct beneficiaries of the project to put the project to good use by exhibiting a high sense of maintenance culture.

 A representative of the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, Madam Linda Agyepong, who presented the speech on behalf of the Minister noted that the projects were constructed under phase 1 of the LoCal Ace initiative which encompasses the construction of a warehouse for farmers at Nsuekyir, the drilling and provision of water facilities as well as a Patio for adequate drying of the crops.

According to her, the team also among other things undertook a sensitization exercise for some communities in the Municipalities on the impact of climate change and how their actions could influence a circular economy as well as climate smart agricultural practices and a training programme for 52 beneficiary women in soap making with start-up kits provided.

On her part, the Technical Specialist of the UNCDF, Madam Angela Yayra Kwashie, noted that climate change was one of the most pressing challenges facing the world with severe impacts in vulnerable regions. Madam Yayra Kwashie posited that agriculture continued to be the most climates -dependent part of human existence with the majority of the ECOWAS Sub-regional countries including Ghana and many other developing nations relying heavily on it for their national economies.

She said that the Nsuekyir community in the Effutu Municipality was selected for the Performance Based Climate Resilience cycle as a result of the UNCDF investing in people and communities with climate- sensitive interventions through the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCal), championing locally led adaptation through the Performance based climate resilience grant (PBCRG).