EU-funded Gari factory opened in Bono region in Ghana

A new Gari processing factory and a cashew seedlings nursery have been established under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in Praprabaabida, Bono region in Ghana. The factory, in which farmers can process cassava tubers into Gari flour, is funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). It aims to provide livelihoods for returnees and community members and ensure that youth have access to opportunities at home instead of risking their lives on irregular migration routes.

The project seeks to foster reintegration on a larger scale, with a focus on economic empowerment and social cohesion. The new factory is part of an agricultural project including cashew production and the training of returnees in organic plant production and plant protection. It was realised jointly with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Dormaa East District Assembly. Initially handed over in November 2020, the intervention comes very timely, as COVID-19 pandemic threatens the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, including migrants, returnees and the youth.