Government initiatives to strengthen the nation’s agricultural sector haven’t had the anticipated impact because commercial banks haven’t fulfilled their obligations to farmers by providing them with sizeable loans as promised.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the minister of agriculture, claimed that while the government was trying its best to increase food production by subsidizing the prices of agricultural inputs like chemicals, the banks had fallen short in providing adequate loans to support that endeavour.
The minister claimed that as a result, the market prices for food and other agricultural products were very expensive.
As a result, he added, the administration would shortly work with Parliament to draft laws requiring commercial banks to provide farmers with 20% of their loan portfolio.
When Dr Akoto visited various places in the Eastern Region to speak with farmers about the difficulties they faced and whether there had been a food shortage there, he dropped the hint.
High-ranking ministry officials, regional and district directors of agriculture, as well as the minister’s deputy, Yaw Frimpong Addo, accompanied him on the tour.
The delegation went to a number of facilities, including the Legacy Seed Processing Company at Otareso, close to Koforidua, where seeds are stored, processed, and treated; Idros Farms at Kwame Duodu; the Pinora Zonal Enterprise close to Adeiso, which only produces fruit juice for export; and TQ Farms, Akim Krodua, close to Asamankese, which grows cereals, cassava, and coconuts.
Along with hybrid coconut seedlings, coconut fruits, and poultry items, Sahmen Farms in Mepom, close to Asamankese, is another place they went.
In order to address the issue of the financial difficulties farmers faced, the minister stated legislation was being sought to oblige commercial banks to lend at least 20% of their loan portfolio to farmers.
By doing so, he claimed, food output would increase and Ghanaians’ access to inexpensive food would be improved.
Dr Akoto, who spoke passionately about the subject, emphasized that during the past 30 years, for example, it had been required in India for banks to set aside a specific percentage of the loans they made to farmers to help agriculture in that nation.
He argued that the government should use laws to compel commercial banks to devote funds to assisting farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole.
The minister emphasized that if that wasn’t done, Ghana’s agriculture, which is the foundation of the country’s economy, would continue to suffer, and he added that the ministry wasn’t a financial organization, but rather one that made policies.
Despite claiming that there was no lack of agricultural products in the nation, he also noted that food costs had gone up.
He blamed the high cost of inputs like chemicals, chicken feed, and the rising price of fuel, which had also influenced the transportation of food from the farm gate to the market centres, to the high cost of food products.
He clarified that although the government was making every effort to ensure that the prices would be within the reach of the average Ghanaian, it was impossible for it to control the circumstances that had caused the increase in the cost of food goods.
The majority of farmers, particularly poultry producers who typically produce up to 150,000 birds, have now substantially cut the quantity due to financial constraints, the minister said. “This scenario may be remedied if the banks start granting farmers loans,” he added.
The minister claimed that in response to the worldwide fertilizer scarcity, Ghanaian farmers had started using organic fertilizer, which had resolved the issue.
Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, the proprietor of Idros Farms and the year’s Best National Crop Farmer, told the Daily Graphic that his company was building a food processing plant for the neighbourhood in accordance with the government’s One-District, One-Factory initiative and that he had ample land for the project.
A presentation by the regional director of agriculture, Henry Crentsil, was made earlier at a gathering of regional and district agricultural directors, agric extension officers, seed growers, and input seed merchants held at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council.
The increase in food production this year, according to Mr Crentsil, who also noted that the government’s PFJ had made a significant contribution to the success this year.