USAID Ghana Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity

The USAID-funded Ghana Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity is a five-year initiative which aims to a) increase commercialization and profitability of agriculture markets, b) increase institutional capacity of market actors, c) improve market access and quality of business services and d) improve the enabling environment for local market actors across northern Ghana. Within MSR, JAA leads work on policy and the enabling environment to create a more functional market system marked by improved cooperation between government and market actors and greater compliance with and enforcement of relevant policies. JAA is employing a demand-driven and evidence-based facilitative approach to achieve results.

In the initial phase of the project, JAA conducted a Policy Landscape and Political Economy Analysis (PLPEA) to establish a baseline understanding of the enabling environment in the project’s Zone of Influence (ZOI). Building on desk research, nearly 50 key informant interviews with actors across the ZOI and at the national level, and stakeholder workshops, the PLPEA identifies key market actors and articulates the processes of policy formulation and implementation for MSR to consider in its work. Through the PLPEA, JAA developed a series of actionable recommendations for the project to undertake going forward.