In light of what the President of the Federation of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE), Anthony Sikpa, sees as the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Fund’s (EDAIF) inability to support exports, he has called on the government to create a separate funding scheme. He is asking for a new funding scheme which would provide long-term financing for producers and exporters to boost economic growth.
“Apart from EDAIF, there is no other dedicated long-term financing for exporters. Even the EDAIF itself was initially for exports alone, but currently that objective has been broadened to other areas so exporters are constrained when it comes to accessing funds,” he said.
Ghana, he said, must learn from other countries operating with the EXIM system that have other financial schemes to support farmers with funds to increase crop production as well as exports.
“The kind of financial packages we have here do not consider long-term financing; and that does not help businesses. For example, a crop like mango takes three years to start fruiting but there is no fund beyond the three years that farmers can access to help them grow their business,” he said.
The agric sector continues to experience dwindling fortunes in the country, as output dropped from 31.8 percent in 2009 to 29.8 percent in 2010, 25.3 percent in 2011, 22.7 percent in 2012 and 21.3 percent in 2013. In 2014, the sector’s growth was a mere one percent.
The sector was expected to register a minimal growth of 0.04 percent by the end of 2015, against a target growth of 3.6 percent. With the population growth rate of about 2.5 percent per annum, the almost-zero percent growth rate in the agriculture sector for 2015 suggests that agriculture GDP per capita has declined substantially, raising concerns about long-term food security, agricultural employment, and sustainable development.
The revelations have raised concerns from many stakeholders, who are calling for government to devise new measures to save the ailing sector that is seen as the backbone of the country’s economy.
