Segment: Banks Won't Fund Young Farmers - The Risk Problem Keeping Ghana's Agriculture Small

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast
Host: Derrick Abaitey
Episode Segment: "Banks Won't Fund Young Farmers – The Risk Problem Keeping Ghana's Agriculture Small"
Date: May 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the critical challenges facing young farmers in Ghana, focusing on the cultural mindset toward agriculture, systemic barriers to entry (particularly access to capital), and practical solutions for empowering a new generation of agripreneurs. Host Derrick Abaitey has an in-depth conversation with Kwambuachi, founder of Modaya Farms, unraveling both personal experiences and broader systemic issues that keep Ghana’s agricultural sector small and fragmented.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Generational Attitudes Toward Farming

• Upward Mobility & Societal Respect
  • Both Derrick and Kwambuachi discuss how farming is often seen as a last resort or punishment, not a respected career. Many parents aspire for their children to become doctors, engineers, or pilots, pushing them away from agriculture despite family histories in farming.
  • Quote:
    • Kwambuachi: “When I was growing up, they punish you and they ask you to go and weed. So you grew up thinking, okay, weeding is a form of punishment. Farming is a form of maybe exaggerated punishment. So I'm not going to do it.” (02:15)

2. The Missed Economic Opportunity

• Ghana’s Import Paradox
  • Ghana imports significant quantities of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, indicating a massive market opportunity that local youth could exploit if conditions were supportive.
  • Kwambuachi urges a mindset shift to see such gaps as business opportunities.
  • Quote:
    • “If we can buy $100 million worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, what are you doing in Ghana? Why can't you target 1%? That's 1 million.” (03:21)

3. Access to Capital and Financial Institutions

• The Funding Gap for Young Farmers
  • The conversation zeroes in on why banks rarely fund young, ambitious farmers. Banks default to safe government bonds instead of taking risks on startups in agriculture—often citing the risk of default or proprietors absconding abroad.
  • Kwambuachi highlights a need for banks to consider equity partnerships rather than only traditional loans.
  • Quote:
    • “Anytime you raise this issue, they tell you yeah, it's risky… But there should be a radical change in all of us. Corporate Ghana and then citizen Ghana.” (04:26–05:27)

4. Solutions & New Approaches

• Collaborative or Large-Scale Farming Initiatives

  • Rather than piecemeal government-led programs, Kwambuachi advocates for collectives of determined individuals launching scalable farms, especially targeting urban demand.
  • Location is key: peri-urban farms have better access to Accra’s markets, as rural farmers face logistical nightmares.
  • Quote:
    • “Like some people can come together and say, hey, we're going to do this... we can create something.” (01:21)

• Hands-on Learning and Replicability

  • Kwambuachi opens his operation, Modaya Farms, to interested young people for observation and learning.
  • Timestamp: (05:34–06:22)

5. Innovation and Listening to the Market

• Product Development (Oven-Dried Catfish)
  • Kwambuachi describes how product innovation arose from real-life observations—making it easier for consumers (especially mothers cooking for families) to portion fish.
  • Early pushback and adaptation: Initially, customers missed the fish head, so the product was refined based on feedback.
  • Quote:
    • “So I said, okay, if I'm able to slice this fish, make it easier, it will be easier for them to give Kwesi a kuya kojo. This... But how do I know this is a snake? … fair point. You need to listen to them. So now we include the head.” (06:48–07:42)

6. Building Motivated Teams & Social Responsibility

• Profit Motive and Staff Incentives
  • Kwambuachi is transparent that his primary motive is profit, but stresses fair pricing and reinvesting in staff through bonus systems and local empowerment.
  • Quote:
    • “If we make money in this company, Kwambuachi is not going to just keep it to himself... We're going to set up a bonus system because I know they live around.” (08:00–09:08)

7. Growth and Success Metrics

• Revenue Growth
  • Modaya Farms started in 2023 and saw significant growth by 2025, with annual revenues reaching approximately 750,000 Ghanaian Cedis (about $60,000 USD).
  • Demand is increasing locally and from international markets (Canada, Belgium, Germany, Ivory Coast).
  • Quote:
    • “We make revenues of maybe 750,000 cities yearly... and it's growing up right now.” (09:14–10:03)

8. Best Advice

• The Power of Education
  • Kwambuachi shares his father's advice:
    • “If you study and you do very well, you can do whatever you want.” (07:48–08:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Farming to the average person, young person, is not something they look at as a path to societal respect or dignity.” – Host Derrick (00:51)
• “There’s a big industry about talking [about problems]…Every day you hear people talking about problems. This is what we are going to do and nothing is done. We need to move from there, put things on the ground.” – Kwambuachi (02:15–03:15)
• “The banks could help… If the company becomes bigger, the equity you put in… The bank makes money. But I don't know if our banks are thinking about that.” – Kwambuachi (04:28–05:27)
• “My vision is if this can be replicated… The car farms cannot supply the whole of Ghana. We wanted to be peri urban and then to target Accra because demand is here.” – Kwambuachi (05:47–06:22)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:22 – Family history and social attitudes toward farming
• 01:19 – Educational and societal stigmas linked to farming
• 03:15 – Ghana’s agricultural market gaps (tomato imports)
• 04:28–05:27 – Banking attitudes, funding barriers, and proposed changes
• 05:34–06:22 – Offer for young people to visit and learn at Modaya Farms
• 06:48–07:42 – Product innovation and customer feedback on catfish
• 08:00–09:08 – Philosophy on business, profit, and team empowerment
• 09:14–10:03 – Company growth, revenue, and international market interest

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Episode Tone & Language

The tone throughout is candid and pragmatic, with moments of humor and personal storytelling. Both host and guest blend critical analysis of systemic problems with an optimistic push for practical, grassroots solutions that can scale.

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Conclusion

This episode provides a realistic, often eye-opening look at the roadblocks young Ghanaian farmers face—chief among them entrenched attitudes, capital constraints, and policy inertia. Kwambuachi’s entrepreneurial journey offers hope, emphasizing innovation, education, and collective action to unlock Ghana’s agricultural potential. The episode closes inviting listeners to engage directly, learn, and replicate such grassroots models for wider impact.

Transcript

[Host]

If it's your first time watching Connected Minds or you have been here before but still have not subscribed, do us a favor because majority of the people that watch our videos have not subscribed. This doesn't help us grow beyond what we expect. So help us by hitting the subscribe button. Thank you. Now let's get back to the conversation. Did your parents ever do farming?

[Kwambuachi]

Yes.

[Host]

Why did they not push you into farming?

[Kwambuachi]

Because the thing was, okay, I want Kwambuachi to be a doctor, I want him to be an engineer. Yep.

[Host]

But you are back to it now.

[Kwambuachi]

Yes. No, I started school in Bru and a half. Yeah, yeah. My grandparents were cocoa farmers, big cocoa farms in, in AFU area. That was where I grew up. So I don't come from a rich family. Okay, okay, okay. Not a poor family, but yeah, it's a cocoa farming family.

[Host]

So, sir, this, this makes me understand that we have left farming for the people who quote unquote, cannot read and write. Even those people, they push their children to be, to become crutch. And there you go. So farming to the average person, young person, is not something they look at as, it's a path to societal respect or dignity.

[Kwambuachi]

Yes. And that has to stop. No Minister of Agriculture will send these agriculture extension officers. I mean, you're going to advise somebody who is working on maybe one acre or one plot of land. He's a peasant farmer feeding his children. Probably the nation should start thinking about large scale farms. But our history with government led operations, not that great. Okay, not that great, but we can create something. Like some people can come together and say, hey, we're going to do this.

[Host]

So I mean, retrospect to what we've discussed about parents pushing children into education and them not seeing farming as a job that will give the person respect because they want to really speak to their friends and say, sure, my son is a doctor, you know, my daughter is a pilot. Right. Or an engineer. What advice do you have for the young people?

[Kwambuachi]

Education is very, very important. We need to probably revamp the way we teach people. When I was growing up, they punish you and they ask you to go and weed. So you grew up thinking, okay, weeding is a form of punishment. Farming is a form of maybe exaggerated punishment. So I'm not going to do it. People have farmed and realized that, okay, I'm not making money, he's on a cocoa farm, he cannot even send his son to school. However, if we are able to revamp the way we teach and the way we explain Our Greek to people. People will get to know that, hey, I can be a BSc, a PhD and till the ground and make lots and lots of money. I mean you were in the uk, you can. There are farmers there. Oh yeah, milk and cows. I was in Japan. A lot of the rich people are farmers. You go to the. We go to the usa, maybe Brazil, the same thing. Why have we pushed our Greek to the background? We talk a lot. It looks like, okay, I came to Ghana and then I realized that okay, there's an industry on talking about our problems. There's a big industry about talking. Every day you hear people talking about problems. This is what we are going to do and nothing is done. We need to move from there, put things on the ground. Everybody can identify the issues we have, but are we actually tackling them? No food. Bringing tomatoes from Burkina Faso, 100 million per annum. That's an opportunity for the youth. If we can buy $100 million worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, what are you doing in Ghana? Why can't you target 1%? That's 1 million. Yeah, this is not the government spending money there. These are custom entries. The cash is moving from Ghana to buy those tomatoes or whatever from Burkina Faso, from wherever. So why can't we set up farms and then supply these ladies who are going to Burkina Faso to buy tomato? The thinking should change from yeah, that is an opportunity. Now how do you harness that opportunity? So that is the issue because for a 25 year old guy, where is he going to get 50,000, 100,000 to do that kind of work?

[Host]

So this is the major problem and

[Kwambuachi]

the banks should be able to come in. Okay, which I don't see. I see the banks just doing their traditional way of business because they get high returns from government bonds. So instead of investing, co investing with these guys who come with these ideas, they are not prepared to do that. It's risky for them. But the banks could help. I don't know the banking laws here, I can't go back and read them. But yeah, I mean this is a company fledgling, coming, struggling. Okay, I'm going to put money in this company, help you grow and becomes equity in the company. If the company becomes bigger, the equity you put in. You put in maybe 100 is become 300. The bank makes money. But I don't know if our banks are thinking about that. Anytime you raise this issue, they tell you yeah, it's risky. You put the money in and then the proprietor will just run away to the UK or the US and you lose Your money. Yeah, they also have a point. But there should be a radical change in all of us. Corporate Ghana and then citizen Ghana.

[Host]

So just something I've got to ask.

[Kwambuachi]

Okay.

[Host]

A difficult ask, which is are you willing to have only three of my audience who are willing to just come and observe what you do at Modaya Farms, simply to ask you questions and also learn.

[Kwambuachi]

Just let me know. Thank you. And then I will take them around for them to see what we are doing. There's nothing hidden there. I, my, my, my vision is if this can be replicated because I cannot. But the car farms cannot supply the whole of Ghana. We wanted to be peri urban and then to target Accra because demand is here. Like I told you, if you are in Kintampur and you want to sell into Accra, you are in big trouble. It's a recipe for disaster. So you need to. If I'm doing it in Kumasi, I know. Okay. These guys like this, this, this. So I have to.

[Host]

Right, you've got to be in a cashman area.

[Kwambuachi]

Yes, that area. Okay. But yeah, what we've done, I think it can be replicated anywhere.

[Host]

Yeah. So if you are that person that wants to learn from Mordecai Farms, you can drop a comment right here. But we're going to start from our community on tribe IO. At this point, I want to show you some of the products that they have. This is what we do here. So I think this is oven dried.

[Kwambuachi]

Yes.

[Host]

Catfish, sliced. And this is curled catfish.

[Kwambuachi]

Okay. So, so if you go to the market, you see the curled ones.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Kwambuachi]

But the, the sliced one. This was an idea that came to my, it came to my mind that you growing up and your mothers would be. Our mothers will be. We will finish the soup and they will be dividing the fish. It's hot. They have to go through that. So I said, okay, if I'm able to slice this fish, make it easier, it will be easier for them to give Kwesi a kuya kojo. This. Maybe the big guy will get a curled one, the father will get the curled one, which is what we do here. So I came up with that. Yeah. Initially it was, what is this? I don't like this. And I took it to Kumasi. There was no head in it. Somebody asked me, where is the head? And I said, oh, I took out the head. So. Yeah. But how do I know this is a snake?

[Host]

Fair point.

[Kwambuachi]

Yeah, fair point. You need to listen to them. So now we include the head. And yeah. People come and say yeah, we want. We want the slice one.

[Host]

I see. So what's the best advice you've ever received? Yep, this will get you to think.

[Kwambuachi]

The best advice I've ever received. Yeah. My father told me to study. He said steady. If you study and you do very well, you can do whatever you want.

[Host]

You know, I was reading somewhere that you said your motivation for starting the farm was money.

[Kwambuachi]

Of course. It's not a philanthropy. I have to make money, but I don't have to squeeze money out of my people. If I can make decent profit selling it at 100, why should I sell it at 150 or 200? I have my targets and I know where the business is going. And I know that if I make this amount of money, I can. The company will be modern. I tell the workers, you are here not for a salary. This salary is. But if we make money in this company, Kwambwachi is not going to just keep it to himself and then his family. No, we're going to set up a bonus system because I know they live around. I mean, it's a village. So if you get a huge. I mean, a sizable bonus. If we make money and get a sizable, I'll see to you that you buy blocks.

[Host]

Right.

[Kwambuachi]

Start building something and start building something. Yeah, no, I tell them. I say I'll come and see. No, this is your. Your family. You just build. Build something here.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Kwambuachi]

I mean, you can use it to do something. So. So, yes, I want to make money.

[Host]

Yep. But for. For a company that started off just over, let's say, 2.5 million USD. What's the turnover currently?

[Kwambuachi]

The turnover now is okay. Because we're doing this. And it's not like I told you. I. I need. I needed off takers. Yeah. We make revenues of maybe 750,000 cities yearly. Yearly. So.

[Host]

Right.

[Kwambuachi]

But we started. Okay. Started 2023. 2023 was virtually okay. Zero. 2024, 2025. But it's grow. It's growing up right now we're getting more people coming in. Dr. People are patronizing now, so I think 2025 will be good for us.

[Host]

What has been your biggest channel for growing the business in terms of marketing more individuals? I see.

[Kwambuachi]

We sell to maxmat in East Lagoon.

[Host]

Okay.

[Kwambuachi]

Make Matt Made in Ghana. Gusto Migmat in East Lagoon. Migmat Laboni Poco Trading in Kumasi. But I think they have place any order. And then someone in Kumasi also came and said, yeah, I want to sell your products. So those are the people we're selling to. And recently we've got people coming from Canada. I'm getting calls from, from Europe, Belgium and Germany. And then the Ivory Coast. Yeah, there's an order there for to be, to be taken to the Ivory coast right now as I speak.

[Host]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you for coming in. I've enjoyed the conversation. And if you did make it to the end, you leave a comment and let me know. How did you find this conversation? Connected Minds Podcast.