Trade and Agribusiness Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare is urging financial institutions in Ghana to re-calibrate their lending models to better support agribusinesses with more affordable and long-term financing options, citing access to credit as a critical factor for the sector’s growth and competitiveness.
In an interview with Citi 97.3 Fm , the Minister expressed concern over the persistently high cost of capital for agribusinesses in Ghana, especially when compared to more supportive financing ecosystems in peer economies.
“To enable you to do agribusiness, financing is very key. In other jurisdictions, the cost of financing is good. In Ghana, the cost of financing is very high. And so, we continue to engage the financial institutions to let them know that if you’re financing agribusiness, the rate of interest has to be looked at.” she stated.
The Minister’s remarks come amid a broader national push to revitalize agribusiness with a renewed emphasis on access to capital, market linkages, and agro-industrial value chains.
Ms. Ofosu-Adjare was noted that the unique nature of agribusiness from input procurement and planting to processing and marketing requires a patient capital approach that short-term commercial loans are ill-suited to address.
“The banks can also do better by giving long-term loans to agribusinesses. Because it takes time for you to introduce a product, for the product to get attention, before you can get the required sales,” she argued.
“If you take a short-term loan, you’re not likely to succeed and cannot be competitive. And so, we brought the financial institutions to understand what agribusiness brings to the table and the need for them to finance agribusiness.” She added.
The Minister’s call aligns with the objectives of the recently launched National Agribusiness Dialogue, held on Monday, July 28. The forum brought together key stakeholders from agriculture, banking, trade, and policy sectors to chart a course for accelerated agribusiness development in Ghana.
The initiative is part of a broader policy shift by the Mahama-led administration aimed at modernizing the country’s agriculture, enhancing value addition, and generating sustainable rural employment.
She signaled if banks respond with tailored products such as risk-sharing facilities, blended finance instruments, and patient capital structures it could unlock new investment into agro-processing and agritech, boosting export potential and import substitution.
