We’ll ease burden on farmers – Mahama pledges

Story: Victoria Beeko-Danso

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that his government will take aggressive measures to reduce interest rates on agricultural credit to single digits, saying that current lending conditions make it nearly impossible for farmers to profit from their labour.

Speaking at the 41st National Farmers’ Day Celebration in Ho, he described high-interest loans as one of the most crippling obstacles facing farmers nationwide.

He said the burden placed on farmers by commercial lending rates means many ultimately work “for the bank and not themselves,” hindering national efforts to strengthen food security and expand agricultural production.

“The capital and credit facility that is available to our farmers is at such an interest rate that when a farmer is able to access it, they would be working for the bank and not themselves,” the President said.

He emphasised that affordable credit remained essential to transforming agriculture into a self-sustaining engine of national development.

“One of our prime objectives is to get credit to our farmers at the best possible rate. We will be working towards a single-digit interest rate,” he stated.

“I agree that credit for agriculture must be at a single-digit interest rate. So this government is going to work to bring that interest rate below 10% so that farmers can have access to cheaper credit to be able to produce more for us to feed ourselves,” he added.

This year’s celebration brought together farmers, policymakers, and agricultural stakeholders to honour outstanding farmers and discuss strategies to strengthen Ghana’s food systems.