By Rafiq Nungor ADAM
Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans (SASL) has received a €2.5million grant from the European Union (EU) and European Development Financial Institution (EDFI) Management Company, to support farmers in the northern regions as part of the €10million Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) launched in Wa, Upper West Region.
Joyce Nyamekye, Corporate Planning Manager-Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans, revealed that the company received two tranches of funding totalling €2.5million. She noted that 70 percent of these funds have already been disbursed, with plans to reach an additional 5,000 farmers using the remaining 30 percent.
“As at August 2024, SASL had disbursed 70 percent of this amount to 13,811 farmers in five regions of the north. The entire loan term is six years, and at less than half-term SASL has already disbursed 70 percent of the entire loan amount. There is a need for financing and refinancing our clients, so the remaining 30 percent will be done within the next six months.
“Our projection is to reach about 5,000 farmers with the remaining 30 percent. These farmers will go through the normal loan processing routine to enable them access the funds,” she said in Wa, Upper West Region.
Madam Nyamekye noted that their focus is on supporting farmers who are integral to the agricultural value chain.
“The priority areas have been with farmers in the agric value chain – as in cultivating, processing, granting support to other farmers in the supply of fertiliser, seeds and machinery. SASL has financed farmers in the cultivation of maize, rice, sorghum, soya bean and yam. Financing has also gone to aggregators and others in acquiring farm machinery.”
The AgriFI initiative aims to promote sustainable and inclusive agricultural value chains, improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the cashew, groundnut, mango, rice, sorghum, soybean and vegetables value chains. The programme will focus on the five northern regions: Upper West, Upper East, North East, Northern and Savannah.
Chief Director-Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Peter Maala, added: “The Northern Belt, including Upper West, is one of Ghana’s major food baskets. The EU and EDFI Management Company’s financial support for its smallholder farmers ensures improved livelihoods for farmers by decreased production cost – resulting in food security, which is a priority for government”.
Lionel Dieu, Fund Manager-AgriFI, expressed his delight with the project’s launch.
“We are excited to launch the AgriFI Ghana Country Window and work with our partners to support smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. This event is an important step in bringing together key stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities in the region.”
Chief Executive Officer-Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans, Tony Fosu, applauded the EU collaboration: “With over 40 branches across Ghana, Sinapi Aba has garnered experience across the country, and we are equipped to facilitate access to financing for smallholder farmers.”
Agriculture loans are provided directly to individuals or agri SMEs (5% of clients), but are mostly given to groups of smallholder farmers (95%). With the EU support, SASL has been able to increase the number of smallholders and small- and medium-sized enterprises benefitting from agricultural loans by 13%, bringing it to a total of 24,912 in December 2023. Among these, over 55% are based in the northern regions.
EDFI Management Company, under the AgriFI Ghana Country Window, is also currently investigating new complementary investments to support more farmers.
