The officials are to be equipped with industry leading knowledge, skills and tools to strengthen their technical capacity to be accountable to citizens. The two-day training was also to improve governance responsiveness to agricultural development in the country, and it was held concurrently in 28 Metropolitan, Municipal and

District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. It was organized by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Northern Ghana Governance Activity (NGGA) through U.S Government’s Feed the Future Initiative in collaboration with the Office of Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS).

Dr Nana Ato Arthur, Head of Local Government Service, whose speech was read on his behalf at the training in Tamale, said improved agricultural productivity was of prime importance to the country since majority of the people were engaged in the sector, hence the OHLGS’s collaboration with the NGGA.

Dr Ato Arthur said the training would ensure efficient functioning of MMDAs in terms of their response to the needs of the citizenry in relation to agricultural productivity. The training was also to help government increase the space for inclusive agricultural governance by providing timely and right information to citizens and enhancing citizen-led planning, budgeting, implementation, performance monitoring and expenditure tracking process.

It was in line with a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding the NGGA signed in May, this year, with the OHLGS to strengthen the capacity of the MMDAs and Regional Coordinating Councils, to enhance coordination, improve service delivery and increase governance responsiveness to agricultural development.

In a press statement, the NGGA said, “This support to government is based on the premise that if the performance of key regional and district level governmental actors is improved, then the space for interaction is enhanced for civil society and private sector actors to contribute meaningfully to development.”

The statement said “It is also on the basis that if agricultural investments in the north are safeguarded, then agriculture sector governance will be strengthened for improved agricultural productivity and food security.” Mr Chimsi Musah, Kumbungu District Coordinating Director, who was a participant, said MMDAs would promote more engagement with the people to ensure accountability. The NGGA is a five-year project to strengthen responsive governance for improved agriculture development in the country through strengthening institutional capacity for effective coordination and integration of key actors in decentralized agricultural development in the country.

The NGGA is supported by the American government through USAID in Ghana and it is implemented by a consortium of non-profits, led by CARE International and other implementing partners include Action Aid Ghana, SEND-Ghana and WANEP-Ghana.