Government efforts to enhance the country's agricultural business have failed to provide the anticipated outcomes because commercial banks have failed to play their expected responsibilities in providing considerable loans to farmers.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Agriculture, stated that while the government was doing everything it could to enhance food production by subsidizing the prices of agricultural inputs like pesticides, banks had failed to provide enough loans to support that effort.
According to the minister, this has resulted in high market prices for groceries and other agricultural products.
As a result, the administration will shortly ask Parliament to pass legislation requiring commercial banks in the country to donate 20% of their loan portfolio to the government.
When Dr. Akoto visited various places in the Eastern Region to speak with farmers and learn about their issues and whether there was a food scarcity in those areas, he dropped the hint.
Tour
On the tour, the minister was accompanied by his deputy, Yaw Frimpong Addo, high-ranking ministry officials, and regional and district agriculture directors.
The delegation paid visits to the Legacy Seed Processing Company in Otareso, near Koforidua, where seeds are stored, processed, and treated; Idros Farms in Kwame Duodu; the Pinora Zonal Enterprise near Adeiso, which produces fruit juice for export only; and TQ Farms in Akim Krodua, near Asamankese, where cereals, cassava, and coconut are produced.
They also paid a visit to Sahmen Farms in Mepom, near Asamankese, where hybrid coconut seedlings, coconut fruits, and chicken products are produced.
Legislation
Dr. Akoto stated that legislation was being sought to oblige commercial banks to lend out at least 20% of their loan portfolio to farmers in order to address the issue of financial constraints farmers confront.
He said that this will increase food output while also lowering food prices for Ghanaians.
The minister, who talked passionately about the matter, emphasized that in India, for example, banks have been required to contribute a portion of their lending money to farmers to help agriculture in that nation for the past 30 years.
"What we need to do as a country is use law to compel commercial banks to dedicate resources to aiding farmers and agriculture in general," he said.
The economy will be harmed.
Agriculture, which is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, would continue to suffer if this was not done, according to the minister, who also stated that the ministry was not a financial organization but rather a policy-making one.
Dr. Akoto, who stated that there was no lack of farm produce in the country, did note, however, that food costs had risen.
He linked the high cost of food to the high cost of inputs such as pesticides and chicken feed, as well as the rising cost of gasoline, which had impacted food transportation.
He noted that the circumstances that had led to the rise in food costs were beyond the government's control, but that it was doing everything it could to keep prices reasonable for the average Ghanaian.
"This scenario may be remedied if banks start offering farmers loans," the minister stated. "Most farmers, notably poultry producers who used to produce up to 150,000 birds, have now dramatically cut their numbers due to a shortage of finances."
Regarding the worldwide fertilizer scarcity, the minister stated that Ghanaian farmers had now turned to the use of organic fertilizer, which has alleviated the issue.
The proprietor of Idros Farms, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, won the Best National Crop Winner.