‘Review timing for release of loans to farmers’

April 7, 2008
Story: Abdul Aziz
Farmers in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region have appealed to rural and community banks to review the timing of granting loans to farmers to enable them to maximise the full benefits of the credit facilities.
They noted that the present procedure where loans were advanced to farmers in the middle of the farming season made it difficult for them to derive the full benefits of the loans.
The Tufuhene of Gomoa Ankamu, Nana Kojo Kwansah, spokesman for the farmers who made the appeal at the re-opening of the Ankamu-Junction agency of the Gomoa Ajumako Rural Bank, said the release of the credit facility to farmers far a head of the rainy season would go a long way to ease the frustrations of farmers and ensure high recovery rate of the loans.
Nana Kwansah therefore appealed to the banks to review their procedure for granting loans by cutting down bureaucracy, as well as interest rates to farmers.
He said it was unfortunate that the delay in granting loans to customers, especially farmers, made it impossible for farmers to repay the loans according to schedule.
The Tufuhene expressed the hope that the re-opening of the agency would afford the bank the opportunity to come out with comprehensive plans to ease the frustrations of customers to access credit facilities.
The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mrs Rose Enerstina Newman, said the bank had extended the days of doing business in the agencies from two to five in a week to enable the banks to meet the demands of its customers.
Mrs Newman, who is also the acting President of the Association of Rural Banks, said the bank would soon unveil more products to increase its share capital and render quality services.
The General Manager of the bank, Mr Robert Job Ankoh, said the bank’s re-opening was to curtail the long distances customers had to travel to transact business with the bank.
He assured the farmers that the bank had acquired land for the construction of office and residential accommodation for the staff of the bank who commuted from Agona Swedru to Ankamu.
He said 10 women groups had been trained under the micro-finance scheme of the bank and granted loans to expand their income-generating ventures.
Mr Ankoh said the bank had initiated a new product to enable salaried workers and business executives to purchase goods without using cash.