He said it was untenable to know that credit from the country’s finan­cial system to the private sector was one of the lowest in the sub-region despite being the second largest economy in West Africa.

“I am very distressed, concerned about the poor credit culture and the measures that we need to take to improve it. I have no doubt that more can be done in that direction so that we can accelerate discus­sions there,” he said.

Speaking at the Presidential Breakfast Meeting on agriculture and agribusiness financing, Pres­ident Akufo-Addo said there was the need for measures to be put in place to address this issue to enable the country realise its full economic potential.

The meeting organised by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) brought together players in the banking sector and allied financial institutions to deliberate on ways of improving finances towards agricultural development in the country.

The President said it was heart breaking that the level of credit that came from the country’s financial system to the private sector was one of the lowest in West Africa, describing it as a disturbing phe­nomenon.

“We are lower than Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and the others, all of this is against the background where we are still the second biggest economy in West Africa. There is the tenden­cy for other people to forget that of all the challenges that are before Ghanaians, we are the second biggest economy in West Africa,” he stressed.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheam­pong said the challenges impeding the growth and development of agriculture were access to credit for the procurement of seeds and fertilisers, agriculture machinery, and working capital.

He said the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) had been reviewed and transformed into an input credit system.

Dr Acheampong said a new five-year plan had been developed to move the country’s self-sufficiency from five per cent to seven per cent by the end of 2023, and to 13 per cent in 2024, adding that “and progressively attain full self-suffi­ciency of 110.6 per cent by 2028.”

He said the specific steps taken to achieve this included the supply of 4.5 million day-old chicks, vaccines, and starter-pack feed to anchor farmers and their out growers.

“This intervention will result in the production of an additional 13,200 MT of poultry meat by the end of this year, which will in­crease our self-sufficiency to seven per cent. In 2024, we will ramp up this support to 18 million day-old chicks, vaccines, and starter-pack feed, which will lead to the pro­duction of 42,600 MT of meat and increase our self-sufficiency to 13 per cent,” he said.

Similarly, he said for rice, the ministry was rolling out specific interventions to increase local pro­duction and reduce import levels.

“The national target is to attain self-sufficiency in 2028 with a total paddy production of 3.31 million MT (equivalent to 1.82 million MT of milled rice),” he stressed.