Monrovia – Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah and Agriculture Minister Jeanine Cooper have signed a “Cash Collateral Guarantee” agreement with Afriland Bank aimed at providing a financial remedy to the country’s rice production sector. Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]Under the agreement, MFDP will provide an initial amount of US$700,000 to the Afriland Bank as cash collateral for utilization by various rice processors to purchase paddy rice. Research shows that commercial banks’ lending to the agriculture sector in South Saharan Africa including Liberia is less than four percent. With limited or no access to finance, farmers in the region struggle to increase their yields, especially in rice production. The intervention by the government of Liberia is expected to create a paradigm shift in local rice production in the coming years, officials said.

Source: Front Page Africa March 30, 2020 02:26 UTC