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Agric Bank disburses GH¢ to poultry farmers
Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), a leading indigenous bank, has begun the disbursement of funds to players in the poultry value chain in the country under its Poultry Value Chain Financing Programme (PVCFP).
The company yesterday released the first tranche of the facility; amounting to more than GH¢23 million to six companies in the poultry value chain in the Bono Region.
ADB last month announced a GH¢500-million package to support the local poultry industry to increase production in a bid to reduce the country’s import of poultry.
The package under the ADB PVCFP programme being rolled out in partnership with the Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana-Incentive-Based-Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) and Outgrower and Value Chain Fund (OVCF) is to boost local production of poultry.
Speaking at the ADB Poultry Value Chain Stakeholders’ Meeting in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director of ADB, Dr John Kofi Mensah said the ADB PVCFP was to support the government’s Broiler Revitalisation Programme, which is meant to increase the domestic production of poultry.
According to him, the local poultry industry held the key to addressing the perennial depreciation of the cedi if efforts were made to revamp the industry and increase local production of poultry.
“The Poultry Industry has the propensity to stabilise the cedi and boost the growth of the Ghanaian economy,” Dr Mensah stated.
Dr Mensah observed that the country annually imported more than $370 million worth of poultry products to meet the shortfall in demand, when same could be produced locally to save the country a lot of foreign exchange.
He said the country’s reliance on imports to meet its meat and poultry needs, was putting pressure on the local currency.
Dr Mensah said the country needed to produce 400,000 metric tonnes of meat annually to meet the country’s meat needs, but the players in the industry could onlyproduce 57,871 metric tonnes, leaving a huge deficit.
The ADB MD said his outfit was committed to helping the country reduce its reliance on imported poultry to meet the poultry needs of the country and it was in that direction that the ADB PCCFP was initiated.
He said the programme was meant to support all the players in the poultry value chain including hatcheries, producers, feed millers, processors and marketers.
Dr Mensah said the interest rate on the ADB PVCFP was not more than ten per cent to give financial relief to players in the poultry value chain.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto in remarks made on his behalf by his Technical Advisor, Emmanuel Krobea Asante, commended ADB for the role it was playing to support the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs and the Rearing for Food and Jobs Programmes.
According to the minister, ADB’s name was becoming synonymous with the Planting for Food and Jobs and the Rearing for Jobs and Food Programmes, since it was the bank that was mainly financing the two programmes.
Dr Akoto said the government was working with stakeholders to ensure that interest rate on loans disbursed to players in the value chain under the ADB PVCFP programme did not go above ten per cent.
The minister entreated the beneficiaries of the ADB PVCFP to pay back the loans to ensure the success of the programme.
Senior Agribusiness Specialist of GIRSAL, Mr Takyi Sraha lauded ADB for the initiative and said his outfit was proud to be associated with the programme.
He said his outfit was ready established to help players in the agricultural value chain de-risk their operations and increase their production.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of OVCF, Michael Kpormegbe said his outfit had so far released 50 million euros to support players in the agriculture value chain.
He said additional funds had been approved in the third phase of the programme to further support players in the agricultural industry in the country.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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