Agribusinesses in Ghana need patient financing and targeted government support to grow into sustainable enterprises capable of driving economic transformation, President of the Pineapple Exporters Association of Ghana, Solomon Armah Benjamin, has said.

Speaking on Joy Business MasterClass as part of Joy Agribusiness Month, Mr. Benjamin argued that agriculture requires a financing model that reflects the long-term nature of investments in the sector.

According to him, many financial institutions continue to apply conventional lending models that seek quick returns, making it difficult for agribusinesses to secure the funding needed for growth and expansion.

"We must approach things differently. And then we must give farmers patient capital," he stated.

Mr. Benjamin explained that investments such as irrigation systems require substantial capital outlays and may take years to generate returns, but remain essential for improving productivity and building resilience in agricultural operations.

Drawing from his experience in coconut farming, he noted that access to affordable long-term financing remains one of the biggest challenges facing agricultural producers.

"Aside from pineapples, I do something like coconuts. We have a huge coconut plantation. One thing that is required is irrigation. Now, the amount of money required to do irrigation is huge, but over time it can pay off. But no bank is willing," he lamented.

Beyond financing, Mr. Benjamin called on government to adopt deliberate policies aimed at nurturing strategic sectors of the economy until they become strong and self-sustaining.

He argued that promising businesses and industries often struggle not because they are fundamentally flawed, but because critical interventions arrive too late.

"Government must show its head and take certain decisions. We want to support Sector A, Sector B, Sector C until they are standing and standing properly," he said.

According to him, delayed interventions can allow manageable challenges to escalate into business failures.

"The fact that something happened once in the course of time does not make the business a bad business. But at times, because interventions do not come early, people sit around the problem, and then by the time you see, they fizzled out," he noted.

His remarks come amid growing calls for innovative financing solutions and stronger public-private collaboration to unlock the full potential of Ghana's agribusiness sector.

Industry players have consistently identified access to affordable capital, infrastructure deficits and limited long-term financing options as key barriers to growth.

Mr. Benjamin believes addressing these challenges through patient capital and proactive government support could significantly strengthen the sector's contribution to employment creation, exports and economic development.