The maiden stakeholders’ forum to discuss how to arrive at a suitable model for effective and efficient agricultural financing has opened at Koforidua.

The workshop, being attended by representatives of leading farmers’ organisations in Ghana, is organised by the Agricultural Financing Network in collaboration with USAID African LEAD, an international technical support group.

It is on the theme: “Agricultural Financing Mechanism, Which Realistic Option for Ghana”.

Mr Felix Quansar of the Private Enterprises Foundation, said the lack of adequate knowledge on agricultural financing by officials of banking institutions and farmers seriously affected fund raising to support agriculture in the country.

He called for the development of different financial packages for different farmers groups engaged in different types of agriculture to meet their specific needs.

Mr Quansar said the lack of knowledge about the specific financial needs of farmers engaged in specific crops or a branch of agriculture made the financial institutions to offer the same financial package to all farmers which often led to the disadvantage of many.

Dr King David Amoah, the President of the Ghana Federation of Agricultural Producers, who was the convener of the meeting, said it was to create a forum for all people engaged in the agricultural value chain to contribute towards the search for effective agricultural financing for the country.

He said the forum would look at other agricultural financing models in other countries and determine what could work for the country for possible adoption.