Agriculture Development Credit Facility Launched In Tamale

Hannah Tetteh, Min. Trade and Industry

The Ghana Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDAIF), a funding agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has launched an Agricultural and Agro-processing Development and Credit Facility and inaugurated its long awaited Northern Zonal Office in Tamale, the Northern Regional Capital.

The Export Development and Investment Fund established in October 2000 by Act 582 to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of export trade was amended in October 2011 under Act 823 to include the provision of financial resources for the development and promotion of agriculture relating to agro-processing and the agro-processing industry. In view of the amendment, the Fund is now known as the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF).

According to Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EDAIF, Dr. Abdul Nashiru-Issahaku, under the old mandate, the Fund operated two facilities, namely: the Export Credit and Projects Facility and Export Development and Promotion Facility. 

With the amendment, he said a third facility known as the Agricultural and Agro-processing Development and Credit Facility had been created, and that would support agricultural production relating to agro-processing and the agro-processing industry.

Dr. Nashiru-Issahaku explained that the primary objective for creating the credit facility was to help increase the primary raw material base for the agro-processing industry as well as help reduce the endemic challenge of high post-harvest losses.

The Acting CEO of EDAIF admonished players in the agriculture and agro-processing sector to take time to study the guidelines for accessing the facility and subsequently make appropriate request for consideration by the Fund.    

Francis Dodoo, Board Chair, EDAIF

In his remarks, Board Chairman of EDAIF, Professor Francis Dodoo, said between 2001, when the Fund started operations, and June 2012, 765 export oriented projects had been supported by EDAIF to the tune of GH¢293.52 million: a total of GH¢206.72 million had been used to fund interventions under the Export Credit and Projects Facility, where 286 projects had been supported; and under the Export Development and Promotion Facility, GH¢86.80 million had gone to fund 479 projects.

He observed that since its establishment in 2001, the Fund had undoubtedly contributed to the development of Ghana’s Non-Traditional Export sector, saying “data obtained from the Ghana Export Promotion Authourity (GEPA) indicate that, non-traditional export earnings rose from US$459.60 million to US$2.43 billion in 2011.”   

Meanwhile, the EDAIF since 2009 had been funding the establishment of mango plantations in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Northern Volta Regions. So far, 110 companies and associations had been supported under the project. 

Besides the mango, EDAIF had also supported the production of other crops such as groundnut, soyabeans, pineapple, chilli, pepper and cashew among others in the Northern sector of the country.

The decision to open the Northern Zonal Office thus, was informed by four main reasons including; the need to improve the Fund’s accessibility to prospective beneficiaries in the Northern Sector of the country; the high concentration of EDAIF funded projects in the Northern Sector, especially in respect of the ongoing mango project; the cost and risk associated with clients having to travel to-and-fro its Secretariat in Accra; and to improve turnaround time for applications received from the Northern Sector of the country.