Upper West Agricultural Development Project (UWADP) was the first major integrated rural development project to be funded in a region that had benefited only marginally from previous projects in northern Ghana . It assists a large number of small-scale farmers, helping them increase food production to generate income and marketable surpluses. The project places special emphasis on reaching women through traditional village groups, both as farmers and as microentrepreneurs in the non-farm sector.

The project's aims are to:

• boost smallholder agricultural production of crops and livestock, and promote non-farm income-generating activities by strengthening appropriate research and extension support, training of farmers and access to credit
• develop the potential of formal and informal community organizations as institutions through which technical and social services can be provided to the target group in a sustainable manner
• improve the economic status of women by targeting them for special attention and providing credit for small-scale processing and trading activities, in a way that is culturally acceptable
• develop the small but vitally important existing potential for dry season gardening by rehabilitating some existing dams
• improve access to and from rural communities and facilitate marketing through improvements to critical feeder roads

The project's objectives include: increasing agricultural productivity through development, enhancing community and women's participation, increasing access to financial services and loans, developing infrastructure for water management and improving project management.

Source: IFAD