The ADB will allocate 50 percent of loans to agricultural development

Business news for Sunday, September 27, 2020

Source: GNA

27-09-2020

The Management of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has indicated that it is implementing strategic measures that will see the bank increase its portfolio of agricultural loans to 50 percent by 2022.

This is to allow farmers and value chain actors to have access to sufficient capital to drive agricultural development, reduce imports, and enhance the country’s efforts to achieve food sufficiency.

Mr. Kwasi Asiedu Attrams, General Manager in charge of Agribusiness at ADB, who revealed this at the second edition of the Training and Training Fair in Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries in Accra, said that the bank recognized the difficulties faced by stakeholders within the industry, especially primary producers to access financing.

He said the bank was therefore committed to stepping up its support for the sector by increasing the amount it spent on its loan portfolio, to encourage more individuals and groups to enter the industry to boost productivity.

“As a sign of our commitment to the growth of the agricultural sector, the bank’s Board and Management are embarking on an aggressive agenda to increase the bank’s agricultural loan portfolio to 50 percent of the bank’s total loan book for the year 2022.

“We remain committed to stepping up our support for the industry as the leading bank supporting agriculture in Ghana and similarly encouraging other banks to do the same,” he said.

The fair, organized by the Agrihouse Foundation, in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) -Ghana Poultry Project (GPP) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, sought to provide a platform for breeders of livestock, poultry and fish to display and promote their products and create job opportunities through targeted and competency-based training sessions.

Mr. Attrams said the bank had earmarked GH ¢ 500 million to revitalize the livestock and poultry subsectors under its ADB Broiler Outgrower Scheme program.

He said that the bank also approved and initiated the disbursement of GH ¢ 23.20 million to six actors of the broiler value chain in the Bono Region to produce and process a total of 108,000 birds per week to serve the local market .

He added that preparations had started for the start of the same project in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions in October this year, and that the project will be rolled out to other beneficiary regions in December. Ghana imports 240,000 metric tons of meat annually to supplement local production.

The Government, in its 2019 budget, revealed that the country spends 374 million dollars annually on imports of poultry meat.

In June 2019, the government implemented breeding for food and employment to develop a more competitive and efficient livestock sector to increase domestic meat production and address the country’s meat deficit.

Mr. Francis Kingsley Ato Cudjoe, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development praised ADB’s continued support to the sector over the years.

He assured industry players of the government’s commitment to provide resources and support the sector to prosper for economic growth and national development.