A finance expert, Godwin Anku has advised farmers to apply for financial support in groups if they want to get the loans quickly.

According to him, requesting for loans in groups increases their chances of accessing it as applying for small amounts may be a tedious process which may not be approved.

“The factors that are contributing to the inability of the commercial banks to give funding to the agricultural sector goes beyond the problems we see in the sector. Institutions have been set up to provide special guarantee to guide the sector because government has realized that the issue of security prevents the farmers from taking loans.”

Mr Anku who doubles as the Head of Development Finance Unit at the Ministry of Finance also emphasized that requesting a loan in groups gives the farmers the advantage of getting the amount as it creates the leverage for them to go through the same process and get the requisite result they want as individuals.

“One of the basic things we need to do is to ensure that farmers form groups so that as groups they will be in the position to take advantage of institutions that have been established for their benefit,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Commodity Exchange has hinted on reviving the warehouse receipt system. The warehouse receipt system is a module used to smoothen seasonal price variations throughout the year for a specific agricultural product.

Head of Finance, Investment and Governance at the Ghana Commodity Exchange, Albert Tagoe said “the Commodity Exchange is coming with a warehouse receipt system. Having a warehouse receipt system would mean that every component in the system must be able to work. So, for access to market, we have an ultramodern trading platform which can be accessed. We bring in the buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities together so this creates a market for the financial institutions as well,” he said.