The President’s nominee for Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has challenged financial institutions to rethink how they support agribusinesses in Ghana.
Speaking at the Agribusiness Launchpad 2.0, Dr. Zanetor argued that farming cannot be treated the same way as other industries, calling for a different approach to how agriculture is financed in the country.
She also argued that no one goes into agriculture wanting to fail, but that certain circumstances and incidents happen beyond farmers’ control ,something financial institutions must come to understand.
“No one goes into farming wanting to fail. But things happen. You can have some disease outbreak that didn’t start with you but ends with you. It can end your business unless you have a financial institution that understands the dangers around agric,” she added.
Dr. Zanetor added that a failure by financial institutions to understand this reality will not only raise food security concerns but could also drive people away from the sector altogether.
“If we don’t start making room for that change in paradigm around financing specific to agric, what we will do is drive people further and further out of the sector, which means that we’re compromising our own food security rather than enhancing it,” she added.
She also added that she would rather see financial institutions invest more in people willing to go into agriculture than in those looking at real estate, explaining that larger investment in the country’s agriculture sector enhances food security.
“I would rather you invested in the people here who want to go into the agric sector than in real estate. Real estate seems safer, but in the long term, if you have food security, you have everything,” she stated.
The Agribusiness Launchpad and Accelerator Program 2.0 is a three-day event organized by Impact Food Hub in partnership with Absa Bank Ghana and the GUBA Diaspora Network, aimed at equipping agripreneurs and startups with scaling strategies, expert insights, and investor connections.
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