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Farmers Association lauds proposed
Agricultural Development Fund
Accra, Nov. 20, Ghanadot/GNA - The Peasant Farmers'
Association of Ghana (PFAG), on Tuesday lauded government's
proposal in the 2008 budget to set up Agricultural
Development Fund and Farmer Credit Corporation, saying it
was a step in the right direction.
Finance Minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, in the 2008 Budget
Statement announced the intention of government to establish
a self-sustaining Agriculture Investment Fund that would
entirely focus on funding agriculture and introduce tax
incentives in the banking sector to encourage banks to lend
at favourable rates to the sector.
Currently, only about six per cent of total bank credit goes
to agriculture.
The group, while welcoming the initiative, said efforts must
be made to ensure that the benefits did not only go to the
minority commercial farmers at the expense of the
small-scale holder farmers, mainly food crop, grain
producers and livestock and poultry farmers.
Mr Mohammed Adam Nashiru, President of PFAG, said the
Association's concern stemmed from the budget in which the
Finance Minister stated that: "The fund would be to ensure
that viable projects are fully funded".
"Our fear here is that small holders who are mainly food
crop, grain producers, small scale livestock and poultry
farmers may be left out or may find it difficult to benefit
from this fund as has happened in earlier cases," he said.
The PFAG had been calling on government to enact a law that
would enhance access of farmers to credit and also protect
the market of producers of import sensitive agricultural
products from unfair competition.
Mr Nashiru said the Association would soon present a draft
bill it was preparing to be known as the Agricultural Credit
and Competitiveness Bill to the Ministry of Agriculture for
consideration.
The Bill seeks the establishment of an Agricultural Credit
Fund with seed money to be provided by government and the
Bank of Ghana to provide financial resources to farmers and
producers of agricultural products.
It also seeks to put in place mechanisms to safeguard
farmers from unfair foreign competition.
"We are hoping that some of the suggestions, especially, the
nature, the scope and the structure of the fund, made in the
Bill would be incorporated in government's policy of
agricultural financing.
Mr Nashiru said without finance and limited access to
marketing opportunities being addressed, business activities
of the farmers would not be sustained, a trend which is
inimical to economic growth.
He said he was unhappy that the budget made no mention of
how the markets would be protected against importation and
dumping of foreign products such as rice and poultry, which
threatened local industry.
Mr Nashiru called on government to re-open the Nasia Rice
Mills, the Bolgatanga Meat Factory, the Anum Valley and the
Aveyime Rice projects.
GNA
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