1D1F: Outgrower farmers to receive support from ADB

Outgrower farmers supplying raw materials to factories under the government’s One-District-One Factory (1D1F) policy are set to receive loans from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Dr. John Kofi Mensah.

According to him, industries established under the 1D1F initiative in need of agricultural support can be assured of the Bank’s preparedness to provide them with the needed financial support to better their output.

At the commissioning of the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited and Casa De Ropa Limited in the Central Region by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Kofi Mensah said the bank will soon disburse an amount of about GHS50 million to outgrower farm companies operating within the catchment areas of the two factories.

He noted that, “These factories need constant supply of raw materials to remain in business and as our contribution to the 1D1F, we are giving out loans, especially to outgrower farmers attached to the 1D1F factories so they can supply these factories with the needed raw materials.”

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According to Dr. Kofi Mensah many companies established in the past have not performed to full capacity or even survived due to lack of raw materials, hence the decision by the bank to support the outgrower farmers to ensure the availability of raw materials to sustain the factories and create more jobs.

Touting the government’s 1D1F policy, the ADB Managing Director said described it as the biggest industrial programme developed in recent times with the potential to fully transform the Ghanaian economy.

“Our association with such key government projects, especially those related to agribusiness, is a manifestation of the new direction of the Board to ensure the Bank focuses on its mandate of agribusiness financing,” he said.

He further appraised Akufo-Addo for his foresight and vision of the 1D1F initiative and pledged that the ADB will continuously support any initiative aimed at making Ghana’s food sufficient.

Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited produces pineapple juice under the brand name ‘Eku juice’, comprising 100% pineapple with no additives.

It has the capacity to process and package 80 to 150 metric tons of pineapple per day. It processes other fruits aside from pineapple and has the capacity to produce 10 tons of fruit per hour, making it one of the biggest fruit processing factories in West Africa.

The Casa de Ropa factory on the other hand, is also into the production and processing of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes into bread, chips and other pastry products.

It is also a greenfield project and can produce between 7,200 metric tons of pastries per day with a workforce of 150.