Over 1,000 smallholder farmers have benefited from a training program organized by Opportunity International Savings and Loans Limited. Supported by the UK Aid, the program is in the quest of the multiple award winning financial institution to transform small scale farming and help contribute to the growth of the agriculture sector in Ghana.
Farmers from 3 regions; Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Northern benefited accordingly from the first phase of the program which lasted a period of 9 months. OISL targets to train over 6,000 smallholder farmers across the country by 2018.
Speaking in an interview, Head of AgriBusiness of OISL, Mr. Isaac Kojo Gyesi acknowledged that farmers at all levels of the Agric. Value Chain either lack knowledge in modern farming practices or need upgraded skills in farming. “To address these challenges, Opportunity International Savings and Loans (OISL) with financial support from the UK Aid is organizing these training workshops across the country with the objective of equipping the farmers with the appropriate farming technology; which will lead to improved yield, increased incomes and total financial and holistic transformation of the smallholder farmers in Ghana”.
The Head of AgriBusiness of OISL, Mr. Isaac Kojo Gyesi, expressed the relevance of capacity building within the farming industry during the workshop. “Building the capacity of the farmers will enable them improve their living standards through enhanced understanding and implementation of good agricultural practices, business planning and financial literacy skills”, he noted.
Participants were trained in good agricultural practices, understanding farming as a business, financial literacy, records keeping for production activities, Harvest and Sales, Risk Mitigation in Agric. as well as Production and Preparation of a Crop Budget. E-banking products being offered by OISL, including the newly launched Opportunity Mobile cell phone banking solution were also introduced to the farmers to help them manage their finances appropriately.
