Ecobank Ghana has injected a sum of US$7,000,000 to prop up production of rice, maize and soya beans in the savannah ecological zones of Northern Ghana.
The initiative is expected to increase food production and improve the livelihood of farmers up-north.
Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdulai, Head of Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Ecobank Ghana, revealed this at the 5th Annual Northern Ghana Pre-harvest Agribusiness Forum in Tamale on the theme ‘Discovering opportunities for expansion’.
A study commissioned by the Millennium Challenge Account Ghana Programme, shows average shortfalls in domestic maize supplies of 12 percent and domestic rice supplies of 69 percent in recent years, despite the growing demand for both crops locally.
This clearly depicts the country is not self-sufficient in either of its two most important staple crops.
Production of these staples, according the report is dominated by smallholder farmers who rely heavily on rain-fed conditions, with limited use of improved seeds, fertiliser, mechanisation, and post-harvest facilities.
Abdulai says with agric contributing a greater percentage of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the bank has greater commitment in terms of support for Agribusiness, adding about 12 percent of the bank’s loan goes to support the Agriculture sector.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana
