He said the decision forms part of the bank’s intention to focus more on its core mandate of agricultural financing to ensure food security and provide the needed jobs for the youth.

“We will continue to provide financial support to companies and industries, especially in the agribusiness sector to ensure food security and better economic growth,” he said.

The Board Chairman made these remarks when he led the management of the bank to the Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) in Kwae-Kade in the Eastern Region.

It was to enable the delegation to familiarise itself with the operations of the company.

More loans

Daasebre Agyapong said ADB would this year continue with its strategy of disbursing more loans to companies and individuals within the agribusiness value chain to further consolidate the positive contribution of the agricultural sector to the economy.

The ADB Managing Director, Dr John Kofi Mensah, commended the company for its outgrower scheme which had helped in creating thousands of jobs for people within the catchment area of the company.

“I wish to commend the company for its outgrower scheme which has positively helped in creating jobs for the good people of Kwae-Kade and its environs,” he said.

Dr Mensah assured the company of the support of the bank in expanding its operations to create more jobs and also more products to meet both local demand and for export.

The Managing Director of GOPDC, Mr Gangadhar Shetty, commended ADB for its continuous support to the agricultural sector over the years.

“We have enjoyed financial support from ADB over the years and this has positively impacted our growth as a company,” he said.

According to the Managing Director, GOPDC is working to meet the demands of the local market to help reduce the importation of palm oil into the Ghanaian market.

Mr Shetty assured the board and management of the bank that all financial support given to the company would be used for the intended purposes to positively impact on the Ghanaian economy.

“We hope to increase our production capacity in the coming years to meet the demands of the local market and help the government in its fight against inflation,” he said.

Plantation

GOPDC, which formerly belonged to the state, is now a member of the Siat Group of Belgium, specialised in the cultivation of oil palm, extraction of crude palm oil and palm kernel oil and produces refined special oils for use by the food industry.

The company has about 21,000 hectares of oil palm plantations of which, about 13,000 have been developed for about 6,000 outgrowers.

In total, there are over 1,860,000 oil palm trees spread over a radius of 30 km, creating a direct or indirect income for above 50,000 people.

The company is currently the producers of the Kings brand of vegetable oil on the Ghanaian market.