However, it did not work to perfection either because some of the farmers did not buy the right kind of animals or did not buy them at all, hence making the loan repayment difficult, if not impossible.

This new scheme, dubbed the “credit in kind scheme” gives 10 goats to farmers who have already registered with the scheme. These farmers are supposed to repay 10 goats in kind, back to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture within 2 years so they can be given to other farmers.

Mr. Kwamina Akorful, the Tamale Metropolitan Director at MOFA, the project is ongoing in 35 districts nationwide, 11 of them in Northern Ghana. Northern Ghana has 20 districts.

Mr. Tia, a farmer, said that they have been waiting for 5 long years for this particular scheme, and admitted that it is a major boost to livestock farmers as cash is hard to come by these days. He also expressed the hope that fellow farmers will repay the loan so that this time round it will be sustainable, so as to help alleviate poverty among farmers in general.