ADB Press Release

ADB GETS 17.7MILLION EUROS FROM AFD FOR RUBBER OUTGROWER PLANTATION PROJECT PHASE V

ADB GETS 17.7MILLION EUROS FROM AFD FOR RUBBER OUTGROWER PLANTATION PROJECT PHASE V

Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has signed a concessionary loan agreement of 17.7 million euro with the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) for the final phase of the Rubber outgrower plantation project. 

This phase of the project will see the cultivation of 8,000 hectares of rubber by around 2,600 outgrower farmers in over 400 communities in 33 districts across three regions in Ghana. Thirty Percent (30%) of the targeted beneficiaries will be women. Beyond the actual rubber plantations, 2,600 beneficiaries will also cultivate around a thousand hectares of food crops to contribute to food security. 

At peak, the beneficiaries are expected to produce on average 19,000 tons of dry rubber annually. It will significantly contribute to poverty alleviation through increased incomes for the beneficiary farmers. It will also contribute to the improvement of the environment through carbon sequestration.
The project which began in 1995 for the Financing of tree crops like rubber and oil palm under the “program for the promotion of perennial crops in Ghana” has seen the implementation of five different phases of rubber and two different phases of oil palm cultivation by growers. 
 Delivering a speech at the ceremony, the Managing Director of ADB, Mr. Stephen Kpordzih said the ceremony marked another mile stone in the success story of the rubber outgrower project which started in 1995.
“As the project Financial Operator, despite the large number of farmers engaged on the project we have endeavored to ensure timeliness in the disbursement of funds to the beneficiaries,” he said.
The Phase I of the project named Rubber Outgrower Plantations Project (ROPP I) was launched in 1995 and was co-financed by the Government of Ghana, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the World Bank. The ROPP I saw the development of 1,200 ha of rubber plantation for 400 outgrower farmers within the Western Region.
The Phase II of the Project (ROPP II) involved 500 new outgrower farmers cultivating 2,855 ha of rubber and was co-financed by the Government of Ghana and AFD from year 2000 to 2003.

Phase IV of the Project (2010-2012) involved a direct (Non-Sovereign) financing from AFD to Agricultural Development Bank without government involvement and resulted in the cultivation of 10,700 hectares of rubber by 2,800 outgrower farmers.
The implementation of these projects has increased the rubber plantations in Ghana from about 10,000 hectares in 1995 to about 57,000 in 2015. The five different Phases of the ROPP has contributed about 29,000 hectares of rubber by 7,783 farmers since its implementation.
The French Ambassador to Ghana , His Excellency François Pujola, commended the bank for the interest in the growth of the agricultural sector in Ghana. 

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