President Akufo-Addo has advised financial institutions to strive to provide credit facilities to Ghanaian smallholder farmers.

There was the need to take a paradigm shift from the poor credit culture in order to support the agricultural sector in contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.

“The level of credit from our financial system to the sector remains one of the lowest in West Africa,” the President bemoaned when he addressed a breakfast meeting on agribusiness and agricultural financing, in Accra.

That trend was not the best given the fact that Ghana was the second-largest economy in the sub-region, he noted.

“Our farmers have the capacity, ability and willingness to work for increased productivity just as they have done to sustain cocoa production, if given the enabling environment,” he stated.

The breakfast meeting was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) – discussing the opportunities and challenges in agricultural financing.

It coincided with the commemoration of the 2023 World Food Day, being marked on the theme: “Water is life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind”.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said agriculture played a crucial role in the nation’s economy – creating jobs, wealth and meaningful living conditions for the people.

With about 3.5 million Ghanaians working in the sector, all efforts should be put in place for its rapid transformation.

The President welcomed the idea underpinning the breakfast meeting, stressing that it ought to be held regularly.

Mr. Bryan Acheampong, Minister of Food and Agriculture, said the Government was committed to ensuring food sufficiency for the benefit of the citizenry.

Consequently, it is pursuing vibrant policies in irrigation, poultry and rice production, among others, especially under the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs (PfJ)’, to achieve the country’s aims and objectives.

Under rice production, some 70,000 youth were being engaged to work for increased yield, the Minister hinted.