The Development Bank of Ghana (DBG) has announced its interest to bridge the financial gap facing the agricultural sector in the country.

Speaking at a media engagement session on Thursday the Vice President of the Bank, Michael Mensah-Baah said his outfit has enough funds to bridge the funding gap in the agriculture sector.

“We have almost $700 million and we believe that we have sufficient capital to start the journey. The funding gap in the agriculture sector is significant but we believe that what we have is enough to start that journey of providing the funding that we need to support the sector.

"We also want to act as a catalyst. We don’t aim to do everything on our own, we aim to bring all stakeholders who are interested in investing in the sector,” he said.

Mr Mansah-Baah however noted that before the investment is made, the Bank is interested in identifying the challenges that are impeding production in the four value chain - poultry, rice, maize and soyabean.

“It will not just be about throwing money at the problem. We want to understand the problem before tackling them.

“So the work isn’t just about how much we have given out but to also identify the problem and making sure that the funding is used in the right way,” he explained.

On his part, the Deputy Chief Economist, Dr Godwin Kojo Ayenor said the Bank is poised to create an enabling environment for private investors.

“We are in the space to try and connect the demand side to the supply side. And to make the environment conducive enough for the private sector to invest.

“When they are investing and they need a medium to long-term capital investment that is when DBG comes in. We work together with participating financial institutions. We do not take deposits nor give money directly but we work through financial institutions to make sure that private sector business especially in the four value chain will become self-sufficient.”

Meanwhile, the Development Bank of Ghana is set to organise workshops in various parts of the country for players in the value chain of poultry, rice, maize and soyabean.

The workshop will be held in Kumasi, Sunyani and Ho to identify the challenges that impede production in the sector.