The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) says it is developing a programme that will benefit students studying agriculture at the tertiary level by giving them internships and on-the-job training with established farms.
The bank said it wants to erase the notion that agriculture is for the illiterate.
“The bank will provide the students with the initial capital to start their own farms when they are done with their internships; but the only condition is the students must go into full-time farming.
“We are doing this to change the notion that agriculture is not a lucrative field to venture into; or that it is a second job, or something for old people,” said Head of Development Finance Unit of ADB, Sylvia Nyanteh.
She said this when she made a presentation of the bank’s focus for the year to some students of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences of the University of Ghana and the A&T State University, North Carolina.
The presentation provided the students who have backgrounds in agricultural economics, agribusiness, animal industries and agriculture education an insight into the set-up and operations of ADB’s agricultural financing unit as well as the value-chain systems underlying their business.
Mrs. Nyanteh said the bank will stretch it limbs to the unbanked in order to beef-up its deposits and income surplus in addition to borrowing from government and other sources.
“The bank will strengthen its corporate, retail banking and development finance activities in order to get loans to individuals and corporate businesses.”
She advised agriculture-related businesses that are desirous of accessing loans from ADB to ensure that their projects are market-driven.
“Such loan applicants should ensure that they have a good repayment record and not necessarily physical assets.”
ADB has 70 branches nationwide and targets the farming of industrial crops, food crops, export crops, fishing, poultry and other agro-processing ventures.
By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY
