One critical challenge for smallholder farmers in the era of rapid climate change is not knowing what to produce, but rather finding the financing needed to produce more, withstand shocks, and turn a small operation into a sustainable business.
Ecobank Ghana says it is trying to close that financing gap by taking green finance beyond environmental protection and directly into the hands of farmers and agribusinesses.
Speaking at the Ecobank JoyBusiness Financial Dialogue, Regina Ofori, Head of Marketing and Brands at Ecobank Ghana, said the bank believes green financing must reach the people whose daily decisions ultimately shape the sustainability of Ghana’s agricultural economy.
“We believe that green finance can and must reach the smallholder farmer. It must reach the vegetable producer. It must reach the poultry farmer. It must reach the agro-processor,” she said.
Ecobank says sustainability cannot remain a boardroom conversation about carbon emissions, climate change and environmental protection. It must translate into better farms, stronger businesses, more jobs and more resilient livelihoods.
More Than Just Protecting the Environment
Regina Ofori said Ecobank views green finance as a tool for improving the economic fortunes of businesses while helping them become more environmentally sustainable.
“For us, green finance is not only about protecting the environment. It’s about helping businesses become more productive, more resilient, more competitive and more profitable,” he noted.
She explains that a vegetable farmer who obtains financing to improve irrigation, a poultry farmer who expands production or an agro-processor who invests in more efficient equipment is not simply participating in an environmental programme.
They are building a business and when that business grows, the benefits can extend beyond the owner to workers, suppliers, transport operators, traders and entire communities.
Over GH¢100 Million Reaching Real Businesses
According to Ofori, Ecobank’s green financing efforts are already translating into financing for agricultural businesses across the country.
She revealed that “This year alone, Ecobank has financed close to 50 smallholder farmers and agribusinesses with more than GH¢100 million.” The financing has covered value chains including grains, vegetables and poultry, putting capital into businesses operating at different stages of agricultural production.
For a smallholder farmer, access to finance can determine whether production remains at subsistence level or expands into a commercially viable operation.
For an agribusiness, financing can mean purchasing equipment, increasing production capacity, hiring additional workers or improving resilience against disruptions.
This is why Ofori insists that these investments should not be viewed merely as numbers on a bank’s balance sheet.
“Behind every cedi invested in a farmer, it’s increasing production, a business creating jobs, an entrepreneur expanding capacity, a family improving its livelihood, and a community becoming more resilient,” she said.
Making Green Finance Practical
The broader challenge for Ghana is ensuring that the growing global conversation around sustainable finance does not remain concentrated among large corporations and major infrastructure projects.
The small farmer also needs capital to adapt, grow, and remain competitive. This makes the expansion of green finance into agriculture particularly important. If sustainability is about building an economy that can withstand climate and economic pressures, then the people producing food and processing agricultural products cannot be left outside the financing system.
Ecobank’s approach, as outlined by Regina Ofori, is therefore to connect environmental responsibility with economic opportunity.
