ADB to collaborate with Development Bank on agribusiness financing

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) is looking forward to a closer collaboration with the new Development Bank Ghana (DBG) to push its agenda of agribusiness financing.

The anticipated areas of collaboration include grant of financial assistance through ABD to medium and long-term industries.

Dr John Kumah, a Deputy Minister of Finance, said this when he inaugurated a nine-member reconstituted Board of the Bank in Accra.

The Board include Daasebre Akuamiah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene and the President of the KwahuTraditional Council as Chairperson, Dr John Kofi Mensah; the Managing Director of the Bank as a member and Mrs Abena Osei-Asare, a Deputy Minister of Finance.

Other members are Madam Mary Abla Kessie, a lawyer, Mr George Abankwa-Yeboah; a Pharmacist and Mr Alhaji Habib Iddrisu, an Entrepreneur.

The rest are Mr Evron Rothschild Hughes, a Development Economist, Professor Peter Quartey, an Economist and Prof Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, a Plant Geneticist.

The Minister said ABD would also explore professional technical support services to assist with projects to be domiciled at both DBG and the financial institutions.

“As espoused by the law establishing it, we at ADB are excited about the new DBG, in the true sense of its purpose that will, among other benefits, bridge the existing gap between commercial banking and Ghana’s developmental agenda,” he added.

He expressed the hope that the benefits that would emerge from a collaboration between ADB and DBG would help channel private investments into productive sectors, new technologies and help accelerate market efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.

He said the government and the other shareholders of the Bank expected the Bank to remain focused on its primary commitment to agribusiness while effectively managing risk to ensure that ADB remained robust in its growth and profitability.

Furthermore, he said the goal of the Bank among others was to increase the share of agriculture in the total loan portfolio of the Bank from 28 per cent to 50 per cent by 2022.

The Minister said the Bank had put in place several measures to be able to achieve the aforementioned rather ambitious objective.

These include the creation of agricultural desks at 36 of the Bank’s branches, and the number was projected to increase to all branches in agricultural zones by 2022.

It also created an agribusiness division with a General Manager, who was a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee.

Dr Kumah said the Bank also restructured the then Agricultural Finance Department and created two departments namely the Agricultural Value Chain Department with focus of financing primary agricultural production and the Agricultural Services Department with focus of financing value addition, agro marketing and agricultural infrastructure.

Daasebre Akuamiah Agyapong II expressed gratitude to President Nana Akufo-Addo for the confidence reposed in them to serve the Bank.

He assured stakeholders of their commitment and dedication to move the Bank to a greater height.

“We are not only going to increase the bottom line, but together we will be able to pay dividend to shareholders,” he added.

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