The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC has launched the Green-Grow Vegetable Farmers Lending Scheme to improve access to financing for smallholder farmers and boost local vegetable production in Ghana.
The initiative is designed to address financing challenges confronting smallholder farmers, particularly the high cost of credit and limited access to funds for purchasing farm inputs, improving productivity and expanding their operations.
The first phase of the scheme has seen the selection and disbursement of funds to eligible smallholder vegetable farmers operating under irrigation in the Greater Accra and Volta Regions, with plans to extend the programme to other parts of the country.
Speaking on the initiative, ADB Managing Director, Edward Ato Sarpong, said the scheme forms part of the bank’s commitment to agricultural transformation and strengthening Ghana’s domestic food production.
“Ghana’s agricultural transformation must be driven by deliberate investments that empower farmers to produce more, earn more, and contribute meaningfully to national development. Through the Green-Grow initiative, ADB is expanding its agricultural financing mandate. We believe that when farmers succeed, communities prosper, businesses grow, and the national economy becomes stronger,” he said.
The Deputy Managing Director in charge of Services, Prof. Ferdinand Makafui Ahiakpor, described the initiative as a strategic intervention to bridge the financing gap in Ghana’s agricultural value chain.
“Access to appropriate financing remains a critical factor in unlocking the full potential of Ghana’s agricultural sector. Green-Grow represents a practical approach to making agricultural credit more accessible, structured and responsive to the realities of smallholder vegetable farmers,” he said.
He explained that the scheme’s structured lending model would align financing with farmers’ production activities while promoting responsible credit management and long-term financial sustainability.
Meanwhile, ADB’s General Manager in charge of Agribusiness, Kwame Asiedu Attrams, said preliminary engagements with farmers in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta Regions had identified significant production potential constrained by inadequate financing.
“Our engagements with farmers revealed enormous production potential that is being constrained by inadequate access to financing and the high cost of credit. Green-Grow has been carefully designed to address these challenges by providing structured credit support to eligible farmers,” he said.
The pilot phase will initially focus on vegetable production, with eligibility determined by factors including access to irrigation, farming experience, group cohesion and satisfactory credit history.
ADB says the initiative is expected to improve farmers’ productivity, expand viable agricultural businesses and strengthen local food production as part of efforts to develop a more resilient agricultural sector.
