Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Irene Vida Gala, has announced her Government's plans to make available a 96-million-dollar loan facility to boost small-scale and rural farming in Ghana.

She said the facility would go into purchasing agricultural equipment and tools to be distributed to farmers so as to increase food production and subsequently improve the country’s bread basket.

Madam Gala said this when a team from the Food and Agricultural Show (FAGRO) paid a courtesy call on her recently to invite her to participate in the 2012 FAGRO.

This year’s FAGRO is on the theme: “Linking Farmers to the Appropriate Market: a Value Chain Process”. It is scheduled for August 23rd to 25th, 2012 at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra.

The FAGRO is a marketing and networking platform that brings together actors in the agricultural sector to promote and expand agricultural activities in the country to contribute meaningfully to development of the sector.

The Brazilian Ambassador said part of the facility would be used to build the competences of small-scale farmers to reduce the importation of food and address food security concerns.

She noted that for the first time, fifteen (15) Brazilian companies would be participating in the FAGRO with various agricultural products such as; machinery, feeds for fish, cattle and other animals.

“Our main aim is to advertise the Brazilian companies that will be participating and help them to understand that there are many possibilities and opportunities of doing business in Ghana and to understand the level of Ghana’s agric sector and build a sound and strong business relationship in Ghana” she said.

Madam Gala stressed on the need for Ghana to invest massively in technology to transform the agricultural sector, saying there would be a big change in the country in the next 30 years if focus was placed on technology.

“Many Ghanaians are hardworking and ready to work, but where to focus their effort is the challenge. But Brazil sees Ghana really going up and up and up”, she emphasized.

Miss Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, FAGRO Exhibition Director, said FAGRO as an agricultural networking and marketing platform, would help to strengthen the long standing relationship between Ghana and Brazil in the agricultural sector and expressed the hope that it would grow from strength to strength to promote bilateral and economic cooperation between the two countries.

She said FAGRO 2012 expects to draw local and international participants to create opportunities for them to form a strategic partnership that would help them to expand their agri-businesses.

“We are again excited about the Business-to-Business (B2B) session that will be on-going at the FAGRO grounds between Brazilian companies and Ghanaian companies and use the platform to encourage individuals and companies who will be interested in the B2B sessions to contact the FAGRO secretariat”, she stressed.**