Unique Trust Bank and IFDC Signs an MoU to make Credit Available to Agro Input Dealers in Ghana
For more information contact:
Augusta Clottey: Augieclottey@ yahoo.com
+233 244 294 738 / +233 21 787051/3
A Three-year project aims to rapidly increase farm productivity and incomes for 850,000 smallholder Ghanaian farmers by increasing access and affordability of quality seeds and fertilizers
Accra, Ghana (February 2010) – The Unique Trust Bank and the International Centre for Soil Fer
The Chief Executive Officer of UT Bank Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng is very optimistic that they will use this opportunity as a platform to build its confidence in the agriculture sector thereby contributing its quota to the development of the industry. Thus the bank agreed to offer credit at 1:2 ratio with respect to the guarantee fund; a ratio expected to increase over the years as the beneficiaries operate within the acceptable terms and conditions. In this instance, the bank disbursed the credit to a total of 48 eligible agro input dealers through the electronic payment system, the e-zwich a medium which the agro input dealers highly appreciated as an improve way of doing business.
The inability of farmers to access and afford agro inputs especially seeds and fertilizers remains major contributing factors to poor yields of agricultural products for the small scale poor farmers at the grass roots level. This arrangement therefore is an attempt to increase agro input businesses to ensure that farmers have access to seeds, fertilizers and other Crop Protection Products at the right time and place for increased agricultural productivity thereby improving their standards of living.
Coupled with the capacity building and technology transfer components of the GADD project, AGRA expects to achieve the aim of accelerated agricultural production and reduce poverty in Africa by doubling the incomes of 20million smallholder families; reducing food security by 50% in at least 20 countries; and putting at least 30 countries on track for attaining and sustaining a uniquely African Green Revolution.
The three year Agro Dealer Development Project has as its objective to support approximately 2,200 agro-Dealers and 150 seed producers to foster an increase in agricultural productivity, incomes, and wellbeing of 850,000 smallholder farmers, by increasing the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality agro-inputs (seeds, fertilizer and crop protection products) in rural areas in Ghana.
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About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programmes develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural value chain from seeds, soil health and water to markets and agricultural education.
AGRA's Board of Directors is chaired by Kofi A Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Namanga Ngongi, former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, is AGRA's president. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK's Department for International Development and other donors, AGRA works across sub-Saharan Africa and maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Accra, Ghana.