For years, farmers in Ghana, especially small-scale farmers, have cried about their struggles to expand their businesses due to the minimal interest in the financial sector to offer them loan facilities. It is usually a story of the risk being too high even though agriculture is touted as one of the profitable business ventures but farming is largely rain-fed.
Stakeholders over the years have been proposing a robust insurance system for farmers to help cushion them for financial support from the banking sector, especially as climate change has resulted in erratic rainfall patterns. However, one can describe this call as having been receiving attention at a snail pace.
Nonetheless, the state is promising to step in and is making a proposal to set up the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Scheme to help improve access to credit funds for farmers and agribusiness.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture-Designate, Eric Opoku proposed this as a solution to the age-old challenge of access to credit faced by farmers from financial institutions.
Appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday, January 20, 2025, Mr. Opoku provided more details on how the Agricultural Insurance Scheme would help farmers in this regard.
“In 1965, Dr Kwame Nkrumah established what we now call the Agricultural Development Bank to provide credit facilities for the development and modernisation of agriculture. Unfortunately, because our agriculture is rain-fed, the banks are unwilling to discharge this special mandate. That is why our farmers are suffering from lack of credit. The NDC intends to introduce a new programme called Ghana Agricultural Insurance Scheme (GAIS),” he revealed in an answer to a question posed by the immediate past sector minister, Bryan Acheampong.
He explained that “Under this programme, we want to subsidise agricultural insurance so that farmers can have insurance on their farms. Once you have the insurance, the banks are ready to advance loans to you knowing very well that no matter the amount they give to you, once it falls within the limit of the insurance, it can be paid.”
Additionally, the Agric Minister-designate is also advocating for school farms in Senior High Schools to help address food challenges, adding that he would work closely with the Ministry of Education to recruit labourers who will assist in the establishments and upkeep of the farms.
He emphasised that the initiative would not only address food shortages in secondary schools but also enhance the quality of meals served to students.
Reporting by Stephen Freeman, Accra.
