Drought In Northern And Middle Belts Govt Writes Off GH324 Billion Loans For Farmers

Last week, we reported that over GHcent;1.18 billion of investment in agriculture in Ghana is at risk as the nation experiences drought across the middle and northern belts.

The reason is that the areas within the transition zone of the country are experiencing longer than usual dry spells this year, resulting in severe drought.

As a result, the amount invested by farmers into agriculture in the middle and northern zones is at risk.

According to the Ghana Meteorological Authority, farmers started planting ahead of forecasts which said that the rains may delay. This means that many farmers have to lose their planting crops.

Following this, the government has moved to the aid of farmers by writing off 90 percent of their loans, which amount to about GHcent;3.24 billion.

The ministers of Finance and Agriculture, held a joint press conference in Accra this evening and announced an update on measures to mitigate the current dry spell in selected regions.graphiconline