[ 2015-12-02 ]

ADB Invests GH¢381 Million on Agriculture
Accra, Dec 02, GNA - The Agricultural Development
Bank (adb) in 2014 invested about GH¢381 million
into the agriculture sector, Mrs Sylvia Nyante,
Head of Agricultural Finance at adb has
announced.


She said the amount represented 400 per cent over
the 2010 figure of GH¢72 million investments.


The massive jump was recorded despite high default
rates due to weather related challenges as most
crop production was undertaken under rain fed
conditions.

Mrs Nyante, who was making a presentation at the
National Farmers Day forum held in Bolgatanga in
the Upper East Region, gave the breakdown as;
Fishing and Acquaculture - GH¢125, 366,156.58;
Industrial Crops - GH¢60,085,629.42; Food Crops -
GH¢38,622,702.53; Livestock and Poultry –
GH¢22,067,819.73; Agro Marketing - GH¢3,919,300;
and Agro Processing – GH¢130,860,900.26.

This brings total investments in the agricultural
sector in the past five years to GH¢500 million,
the highest investment by a bank over a period of
five years.

The Agricultural Development Bank won the best
agricultural financing bank at the recent Ghana
Banking Awards. It sponsored the farmers’ forum
as part of the National Farmer’s Day
celebrations.

The Head of Agricultural Finance of the Bank
indicated that the agro processing sector had
witnessed significant increase in investment with
the best performing sector being fishing and
aquaculture.

According to her, adb was working hard to ensure
that the Ghanaian farmer got the best financing
packages for their activities.

“As a bank we are determined to ensure that we
provide all the necessary financial resources to
our farmers to engage in profitable ventures in
the sector, so as to be able to feed our nation
and also export some outside.

“We have many packages our farmers and fishers
can enjoy from, once they fulfill the basic
requirements to access a loan facility of their
choice,” she said.

Mrs Nyante, who also acted as Fund Managers for
several projects, said adb offers massive support
to develop the agro-processing sector to serve as
a useful linkage for the primary production
sector.

“The Agricultural Development Bank even in the
face of stiff competition is determined to
maintain its position as the best Agricultural
financing bank in the country,” she added.

According to Mrs. Nyante, certain challenges such
as the underdevelopment of the export market to
meet export standards, inadequate agricultural
infrastructure such as irrigation, processing and
storage facilities, and the importation of cheaper
agricultural produce were still militating against
the bank.

Touching on the impact of adb’s investment in
the sector, she said the bank had invested in the
provision of raw materials for agro-processing
companies, the development of the poultry industry
from a subsistence level to a commercial state, as
well as the importation of fishing inputs for
artisanal fishing.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Fiifi
Kwetey in a brief remark, called on the youth to
see Agricultural sector as a worthy venture to
explore.

According to him, the population growth of the
country is expected to rise to over 50 million in
the next 10 years, and if steps are not taken to
make the sector attractive, the country could face
severe food shortage.

Source - GNA

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