ADB is Africa’s agric bank of the year
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has been adjudged Bank of the Year in the field of agricultural development in Africa at the maiden Africa Investor Agribusiness Awards announced in Durban, South Africa.
A statement from the Bank in Accra on Wednesday said ADB was recognized for its strides in financial intermediation tailored to the agricultural sector as its core business and the considerable experience it accumulated in that respect.
The Africa Investor Awards are the first of their kind to formally recognize agribusiness players promoting innovative investments across the main agribusiness and finance sectors to change the landscape for the continent’s agricultural sector.
ADB, the mainstay of agriculture financing in Ghana, commanded a 35 per cent share of the total bank industry financing of agriculture as at April 2010.
The statement said in absolute terms, ADB’s intermediation in agriculture had increased exponentially over the last ten years.
For this year, ADB has made a provision of GH¢175.00 million for agriculture financing, up 33 per cent over its 2009 budget.
The activities to be financed include primary production of food and industrial crops, fishing, poultry and livestock, as well as agribusiness, namely, transportation, storage, preservation, warehousing, input distribution and marketing.
The statement said among the many new initiatives in agricultural financing, ADB was to embark on a Youth in Agric Project.
It said ADB would collaborate with Agric Farm institutions to identify youth for support who will be provided general training in agricultural practices, book keeping and banking services.
The selected youth will choose their preferred agricultural activity, and have on-the-job training from big time customers of ADB in their areas of operation.
The statement said after the training, ADB would provide them with financing to start their own projects.
The Awards will be held annually to recognize and reward the achievements of the public and private sectors across wide-ranging industries and disciplines.
Africa Investor is a leading international investment research and communications group that supplies a broad range of investment data, research, broadcast and published content to a growing number of investors with interests in Africa.
The Group provides strategic research, indices, communications and investment publishing services to support its clients’ investments and communication programmes.
Source: GNA
