On February 9, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Founder and Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation graciously sat down with the Trade Mission’s staff for a fascinating and enlightening discussion about her and Agrihouse’s story, the future of Ghanaian agriculture, and what opportunities Israeli Agri-tech holds for Ghanaian Agribusinesses.
Tell us a bit about Agrihouse Foundation, what do you do, what are your goals?
To sum it up I would say we do Interventional agric projects. We research and identify gaps in the agric value chain, and how we can come up with initiatives that would highlight some of these challenges, bring stakeholders together, and create solutions. At the end of the day, we are impact driven and we want to see growth, empowerment, and scale up within the sector.
You are well known within the sector in Ghana for your many events and projects and for your incredible drive. Have you always been in this sector, what is your own background and how did it happen that you have become the “prophetess” of Ghanaian agric?
I have a communications background, my desire, my passion, my ambition, my focus, was to become a journalist. I went to journalism school, I had no personal or professional background in agriculture, rather came upon the industry by chance. I used to manage a communications firm. As part of my career ambitions to be a journalist I was doing PR with this firm. As part of our strategy, we were looking at different sectors and realized that in the agric sector there was a gap in events and fairs – that sort of thing. We decided to come up with an exhibition, and that was my first exposure to the sector, which really became love at first sight.
I became intrigued by the sector and wanted to know more. At the time I didn’t really know much about the sector, but I could see that we had had an impact. From the feedback we were getting, I could see that people were networking, that people were growing. But I could also see that when it came to youth in agriculture, or when it came to women in agriculture, there was very little life, there was nothing happening for them. I understood that from my own experience being invited to agric conferences. I would attend these conferences and leave without knowing what was said, they were very technical and staid, and nothing that would be on the level of the people we actually wanted to reach. I wanted to take the industry to a place where youth could fit in, where they could envision having a role, where they could see opportunities for themselves. I wanted to take the industry to a place where women farmers have a voice and an impact. I wanted to take the industry to a place where smallholder farmers’ potential is realized, where we do better in creating solutions for them. Solutions in reducing post-harvest losses, in packaging, branding. When it comes to the value chain I wanted to break it down and make it more accessible and more successful for all these marginalized and dis-empowered farmers. These are the things that we wanted to address when we started Agrihouse Foundation.
So something like an empowered and higher capacity agriculture for the masses? Fascinating. So tell us how you have gone about achieving this vision so far.
Our first intervention was in training for youth. Through my work I had the opportunity to visit some of the agric colleges, and I realized that the lands that they used to have had been taken up by building, leaving no place for them to have practical training. Additionally, there was no business training. These gaps led us to start the AG-STUD boot camp, which brings students from agric colleges from all over the country together for a week. We bring them mentors and coaches to support the development of their business ideas, to help guide them in honing their ideas to be successful. In this program, we have been very successful in changing mindsets and the atmosphere. Without this program, there was an entrepreneurial lacking, a missing excitement and energy, even amongst these young adults who have chosen agricultural studies. With the Ag-STUD program, we have now managed to foster excitement, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit. They now have a better understanding of the business potential of the sector and a clearer idea of how they can go about leveraging on it after school. Through this boot camp and follow-up support services including seed capital, we have been able to facilitate the establishment of over 200 agribusinesses including vegetable farms, rice farms, pineapple farms, as well as processing and packaging businesses. One of the greatest things is that we have been able to get them to deepen their understanding of the full value chain, and to leverage their training and education to either look for jobs all along the value chain or to create their own successful jobs through agric startups and businesses that are taking into account the full value chain – its full potential as well as the all the various pain points.
Another project of ours looked to help people diversify in agric to new areas of potential. When people thought about agric they thought only about crops, they weren’t thinking about animal farming or fisheries. We came up with the “Livestock, Poultry, and Fisheries Training and Tradeshow”. As part of this event, we have training for people that want to go into things like piggery, mushrooms, snails, etc. as well as showcasing the animal agricultural value chain. For example, someone can understand the need for fish feed and what is involved, the processing equipment, the value chain, etc. Essentially this event impresses upon people the opportunities that lie in animal farming as well as provides the platform for networking, skills development, and trade needed for the development of these agric fields, also providing an advocacy platform.
Can you give us an example of a specific young farmer who came through your boot camp and what has become of his or her initiative?
Sure, there are so many to choose from. Let’s talk about James, he was a very young guy 16-17 years old, he came through the boot camp even though he was so young. He went through the program and became very excited and motivated. He decided on an idea and worked on it with our mentors, we gave him some seed capital, really just a very small amount, for him to start pineapple farming. Today, three years later, he has a successful farm, he has 5 acres of pineapple. This might not sound like a lot to you, but for him it is a huge success. For a young kid to realize there is opportunity in agriculture, to be motivated to go into the sector, to have the confidence, the skills, and the initial capital to venture into it, and to succeed in expanding and turning a profit – these are not the norm and they are real accomplishments. The really interesting thing that sets him apart is that he not only grows, but he is also processing pineapple juice – adding value and jobs to his business, he now employs people in his community and sells pineapple shoots to others. We didn’t give him so much, really just exposure to the opportunities, motivation, mentorship, and some seeds, fertilizer, and maybe 1000 GHS in seed money; not much but that is what makes a difference between a 20-year-old kid running a successful agribusiness employing people and creating value, or a 20-year-old kid just sitting around unemployed or migrating to the city to subsist on menial labor.
These are some great projects, and just some of your activities in the Agri sector development. You’re known for your energy and passion, you seem to work non-stop. What is the main driver for you, what is the primary motivator? Is it employment? Food security? Ghanaian economic development?
I think it is primarily to see Ghana build sustainable and economically lucrative farming. At the end of the day you can break it down to; making farmers happy. To see the smiles on farmers’ faces, to see their success and satisfaction as a result of one or two interventions that you have done, that as the result of some activity of yours he or she has been able to improve his or her practices, gain access to credit, gain access to equipment through cooperatives. You can see the agric sector transitioning from subsistence farming to sustainable, viable, lucrative agri-businesses, and you can see the collective impact as well as the individual impact on individual farmers’ lives. That is my satisfaction, to see a happy secure farmer.
You talk about changing the perception of agriculture from one that is old-fashioned, boring, rife with poverty and struggle, to one of agriculture being young, exciting, full of promise and future. What does this have to do with Israel?
To me, Israel has become synonymous with successful agriculture, with creating successful agric in the harshest conditions, to how agric has advanced, and how the impact is not only reflected within Israel itself but is global. So firstly, Israel is a model of success for Ghana.
Secondly, Israel with its many technologies, its know-how, its government, is a crucial partner for us at Agrihouse that can help us achieve our goals.
My personal encounter with Israel and the Economic Mission dates back to the Agritech Israel conference which was phenomenal, participating in trade delegations to Israel, and our ongoing relationship with the Israel Trade and Economic Mission and the Israeli Embassy. You see, it is one thing to read, it is such another thing to experience and to see with your eyes what agricultural innovation, agricultural entrepreneurship, and technology are capable of, so it is inspiring and motivating. It is also very useful to foster these relationships, to get to know so many great players in the Israeli agric ecosystem, who can be, and many already are, great partners in the development of lucrative and sustainable Ghanaian agriculture.
Yes, Israel does have an amazing agric story. Coming from a point, 100 years ago when it was thought that agriculture in Israel is near impossible and not feasible, to a time where Israel often has the highest per-acre yields in the world, the most efficient methods, and is a source for many of the world’s most exciting agricultural developments, that is all very inspiring. Besides being an inspiration, where does that meet and benefit Ghanaian Agric, on the ground? Can you give me some examples?
Yes, of course. There is a large Ghanaian-Israeli collaborative training farm that is training Ghanaian youth on advanced Israeli agriculture methods and greenhouse farming. In terms of business, we are getting more and more links every day. The Israel Economic Mission has been instrumental in facilitating these connections, even from the pre-harvest event that we did together, there have been several success stories of Ghanaian-Israeli agribusiness partnerships to come out from that recent event. These partnerships are impactful, and their impact is felt very quickly, because of their technology and expertise, they provide potential for quick, yet sustainable successes in agriculture, and have the potential to create great returns on investment for Ghanaian Agribusinesses. These are not things from a talk show, these are things we see happening on the ground.
On that note; you know the Ghanaian agriculture sector well, its challenges as well as its potential. You are also well versed in the Israeli Agricultural sector – its solutions and capabilities. Based on that, where do you think there is particularly strong business potential for implementation of Israeli solutions or Israeli-Ghanaian business partnerships?
Sure, one is training and demonstration centers. Sure, one is training and demonstration centers. There is already one great project like this, but there is so much potential to expand centers like this across other agric techniques and sub-sectors, as well as having centers like this across Ghana’s 16 regions.
Another is in irrigation solutions. The majority of farmers are just waiting for the rains before they start planting. That is a very sad and underperforming state of things. I think bringing irrigation solutions, training, finding ways to make these solutions accessible, hold huge potential.
Another is logistics and mechanization centers. I’ve been in areas where the farmers don’t even own wellington boots and are keen on renting them. I think if we created platforms, where simple, yet appropriate machinery, as well as training, is available it could be profitable and impactful.
Finally, I think there is a lot of potential in custom contract farming and finding solutions that create the platforms and make the technologies available to enable this. Many people from within and Ghana and abroad approach us and ask us to manage a farm for them or to help them set up farms. There is a gap in capacity that can be outsourced and contracted to agric entrepreneurs or investors. Investors who want to start a farm can have someone give their expertise and manage it for them. I myself have a cattle farm that someone is managing for me, and I just started a goat farm, but there is a real lacking in expertise or people with the capability to provide dependable management. This is another great business avenue with potential for Ghanaian-Israel partnerships.
At the end of the day, Israel is such a great partner, because they have proven that they are creative, resourceful, yet can improvise and know how to create success with little resources and under difficult conditions. They have clearly proven that over their history, and the solutions they offer reflect those strengths. I know there is a lot of mutually beneficial potential, that together with our friends from Israel we can grow Ghanaian agriculture to great things, to a great future, and a great impact on the entire country.
Source: Israel Trade and Economic Mission to Ghana
Ghanaian women continue to play significant roles in the country’s agricultural sector. Women in the sector contribute up to seventy percent of all agricultural production, marketing and processing, mostly combining these responsibilities with raising a family and meeting other social and cultural expectations.
It is however, no secret that Ghanaian women in agriculture are also faced with several challenges, in spite of their contributions. Challenges involving lack of ownership and limited access to productive and arable land, low literacy rates, lack of access to information, low participation in agricultural governance, poverty and insufficient access to credit facilities.
Agrihouse Foundation remains one of the few non-governmental organizations in the country, working closely with women farmers and other value chain partners to address the challenges of these hardworking women across the country. With projects like the Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Forum and Gold in the Soil Awards (Wofagric); the Monthly Agri-Woman Market Place; and the 1 household, 1 Garden Initiative (1h,1g), Agrihouse Foundation continues to train and build the capacity of women farmers to enable them scale up their agribusinesses. Example, over 25% of women who have participated in the Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Forum and Gold in the Soil Awards are now thriving as agribusiness owners because of the agribusiness management training they receive during the event.
Since 2019, the two-part event has awarded about 300 women who excel exceptionally as farmers and have taken up leadership roles within their communities and regions, as aggregators, NGO Founders, Women Farmer Organization leaders, among others. In 2021, about 50% of women farmers recorded at the event manage 10 to 65 acres of farmland, and are between the ages 25-65years, with a number of them being women farmers with a physical challenge.
The Monthly Agri-Woman Market Place Initiative has since last year, supported and empowered women led agribusinesses by creating an engaging platform that helps them to network, exhibit and sell their produces as a way of helping them to recover fully from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 200 women farmers and women-led agribusinesses have so far benefited from event, which also offers them opportunity to share knowledge and build their capacity through inspirational and empowerment dialogues.
The 1 household, 1 Garden Initiative (1h, 1g), has empowered about 100 households to become more self-reliant and conscious about food security, and the importance of home cooked meals. As part of the initiative, households are freely provided with 12 assorted vegetable seedlings, manure, garden tools, treated soil, Training Manual, garden structures, and given the needed support and gardening manuals to help them establish their garden and manage it. Early last month, to start the 2022 New Year, the Agrihouse Foundation team, was in Bamvim, in the Northern Region to train and support 100 women in the community to set-up backyard gardens. The team intends to expand the project to other parts of the region later this year.
Even with all these initiatives aimed at lessening the burdens of women in agriculture, whiles empowering them to build their capacity, more challenges still persist. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in year 2019 and 2020, Agrihouse Foundation undertook a research initiative that assessed how the pandemic was affecting the agricultural activities of the women farmers. Generally, they noted that the pandemic had heighted the already existing challenges in the following key areas: transportation, marketing and sales, education, self-reliance and food security assurance, and limited access.
Challenges Confronting Ghanaian Women in Agriculture
Transportation: A 44-year-old chief district farmer from the Sekyere Central District, in the Ashanti Region, Madam Ohemaa Akyaa representing about 1,700 women in cocoa and maize farming, noted the COVID-19 spread has affected their transportation system, and now causing them to sell produce at no cost at all, to avoid losses. The situation has also affected the accessibility of inputs for farming. Already, they have been facing challenges of little or no access to finance to farming, and it is affecting their entire livelihoods.
Innovative marketing or new sales approaches: Aunty Ekua Atta, 57 years, also representing a select group of about 870 women farmers in mixed cropping in the Gomoa West District Assembly, emphasized an increasing need for support in training on new markets accessibility approaches and innovative ways of selling, leadership and financial management, training on modern technology, best practices, cooperative structure development, mentorship and training in maintaining food production in crisis.
Education: Also, Madam Asabea, 62 years, representing 647 women cooperatives in cocoa and cashew in the Goaso Municipal and Ahafo region, shared the challenges family farmers are facing since the lockdown of schools, which has brought school feeding to a halt. She highlighted the need for more education on social distancing for farmers during this crisis and provision of PEs, capital for production and farming inputs.
Skilled training for self-reliance & food security assurance: Again, about thirty-two (32) young female student Agronomists and agripreneurs, currently unemployed, spoke of the challenges they are facing to afford a day’s meal and the call for skilled training to support and be useful to their communities, during this time of crisis.
Limited access to markets: About 500 women Smallholder farmers and processors (the majority in rice parboiling, shea, baobab and Neem) from Bolgatanga, Wa, Tamale and the Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana have always expressed the need for assistance to access ready markets indicating the challenge is not limited to a particular geographical location.
FDA Certification: Some farmers who are making attempts to add value to their products before selling need to acquire certification from the Foods and Drugs Authority. They lamented about the bureaucracy of the process and the stress involved when they have to certify their processed goods. According to them, wach product from a company/entrepreneur will need to be certified separately thus increasing the cost one needs to get the certification. Though some admitted agencies like the NBSSI have been helpful the cost and processes involved in getting a product certified remain a challenge.
‘Gathering of the Royals’ to Develop Sustainable Farmers
To be considered sustainable, agriculture needs to integrate social, environmental, and economic interests. The goals of sustainable agriculture are; to help provide enough food for everyone, bring communities out of poverty and provide an enhanced quality of life for farming families, and utilize farming methods that promote soil health and reduce reliance on fossil fuels for environmental sustainability. The following are some advantages of sustainable farming:
Healthier food: Food produced by sustainable farming methods has more nutrients in it as it avoids dangerous chemical and pesticides. Crop rotation also guarantees more nutrients in fruits and vegetables while livestock farmers raise animals in a humane way without any dangerous practices such as the use of growth hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics. Thus, the meat is safe for consumers. The food also tastes better.
Building and maintaining healthy soil: Sustainable agriculture’s focus on building and maintaining healthy soil is therefore a critical component in securing the viability of food systems worldwide. Practices recommended for building and sustaining healthy soil include planting diverse crops; reducing or eliminating tilling that can disrupt and loosen soil; and never leaving fields bear with exposed soil, which has the effect of lowering nutrient availability and allowing dry soil to blow away as dust in the wind.
Safeguarding biodiversity: Sustainable farming, embraces a diversity of plants and animal species both on-farm and off-farm in order to help produce and promote healthier foods. Hedgerows can bring non-crop vegetation into fields, creating habitats for pest predators and pollinators. Agroforestry practices can allow native trees to coexist with crops like coffee that prefer shade. Sustainable farms can be places where biodiversity thrives, sometimes successfully coexisting with adjacent wildlands, while supporting sustainable diets based on locally sourced foods.
Reduce pollution and use of chemicals: Sustainable farming reduces pollution by using natural fertilizers and using fewer chemicals. This means that farm produce is healthier and better for you. Sustainable farming incorporates integrated pest management to identify pests in the initial stages and target spraying only for particular pests limited to a particular area. This way it does not affect the bio-diversity and protects the natural wildlife.
Sustainable communities: An important aspect of sustainable farming is that it remains economically viable for farmers, farm workers, and others who are employed in the food system so that they make a liveable wage and work in a safe environment. Sustainable farming encourages the resurgence of smaller family-run farms that strengthen the rural community which benefits everyone.
‘Gathering of the Royals’ Set for Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22
In a press statement, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, has noted that the maiden edition of ‘Gathering of the Royals’ is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at the GNAT Conference Hall, in Accra. The event will bring together fifty (50) queen mothers, together with representatives from Academia, policy, Government, development agencies and Agric institutions, to explore further opportunities within the agric sector, as well as conflict resolutions alternatives towards Peace-building, and the development of sustainable farmers in the country.
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong
According to Ms. Akosa Sarpong, GATHERING OF THE ROYALS is a much-needed intervention that will contribute significantly to policy direction assist in structuring appropriate approaches, practices, systems and innovations for a sustained agricultural value and growth, from the community level to the top level. As part of the half-day event, there will be a Panel Conversation, with a thematic focus on Working Together: Role of Royals and the Corporate in accelerating Agri-Peace and Developing Sustainable farmers.
The Panelists for the session will include Nana Odeatwon II, Divisional queen-mother, Ketekrachie- Oti Region, Portia Asumda, Leader of Kosanaba Women Farmers & Processors Group, Bawku West, Upper East Region, Nana Akua Amoah II, Tuobodom Queen-Mother, Bono east and Ayisheitu Nahanadu Asaki, Queen-mother of Zebilla, Bawku west District. Others include Nana Akosua Bempomah, District chief farmer, Sekyere-kumawu – Ashanti Region, Mama Dzitri Novuiango II, Divisional Queen-mother of Nkonya Tradional area.
There will also be a Contributors session, which will have key industry leaders and decision-makers, like the Hon. Member of Parliament for the Klottey Korle Constituency, Hon. Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, leading a Call-to-Action session, which will guide and build the working path and manual for Royals and Agricultural businesses. Other notable personalities including the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo; the Members of Parliament for Abirem, Hon. John Osei Frimpong; corporate sponsors of the event and collaborating institutions, will all make inputs, aimed at informing Policy direction in favour of women farmers and development activities.
“We are positive by the end of the event, we would have contributed to creating sustainable working relationships, that strengthen collaborative efforts between our corporate bodies, stakeholders and traditional leaderships,” Ms. Akosa Sarpong noted.
The role of traditional leadership is an integral aspect of the Ghanaian culture. In Ghana, traditional leaders have for years worked with local government to enhance peace and security and development in their respective districts and communities, as part of contributing to national development.
Chiefs and queen mothers are, in fact, regarded fathers and mothers of their communities; and in this light, are bestowed a number of responsibilities aimed at guiding them to provide social, economic, and cultural empowerment. Responsibilities including presiding over traditional councils to maintain peace, law and order and stimulate community development, formulating general proposals to offer advice to local governments, coordinating developmental plans and initiatives for their communities, and encouraging the payment of tax and levies.
Others include, helping to determine religious matters and give full support to Arts and Culture. They control traditional titles and offices; determine customary laws and practices; and help to accelerate the task of mass mobilization and participation of the people in community development programmes of their respective communities. Importantly, they serve as important links between their communities and the government, while serving advisory and advocacy roles.
The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MCRA) has the constitutional mandate to develop effective interface between Government, Religious Bodies and Civil Society on matters relating to Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs for the promotion of peace and good governance. MCRA also operate as the primary and apex body to initiate and formulate appropriate policies for the Chieftaincy and Religious sectors of the country. The Ministry aims to preserve, sustain and integrate the regal, traditional and religious values, norms and practices for national development. Core values including Sovereignty of Traditional Values, Peaceful Religious and Traditional Co-existence, Cultural diversity, Tolerance and Unity, underpin the work of the Ministry.
Aligning with these values, Agrihouse Foundation is also set to host the maiden edition of “Gathering of the Royals,” as a standalone event. For the past three years, Gathering of the Royals has been organized as a part of the Women in Food and Agric Leadership Training Forum and the Gold in the Soil Awards, which has since 2019 been empowering women farmers to develop their agricultural skills; motivating mentoring and helping them build on their capabilities as women in agriculture. The first edition was held in the Volta Region; the second in the Ashanti Region and the third in the Upper East Region.
This year, the fourth and independent edition of the event, has been scheduled to take place in the Greater Accra Region, on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at the GNAT Conference Hall, on the theme, “The Role of Royals in Accelerating Agri-Peace and Developing Sustainable Farmers,” with special focus on the work of Queen Mothers, in relations to farming and agriculture in their regions, districts and communities.
The title of “queen mother” indeed relays a rank of authority within Ghanaians traditional community. Queen Mothers are responsible for designating the next chief, providing wise counsel to the chief and his elders, rallying all women together, and keeping an eye on the social conditions within the society. Queen mothers are selected from the royal family of each town and village. It is the head of the royal family and the elders who choose both the chief and the queen mother, a pair that might be related to one another.Today, Queen mothers are adapting to the changing world and the position has remained vital.
To better serve as agents of empowerment who are contributing significantly to social and economic changes in their communities, queen mothers are continuously reexamining their roles and are exploring more development and partnership opportunities to attain their goals. They are starting businesses, non-governmental organizations and heading various projects and initiatives in their districts and communities, which are contributing positively to the lives of their people.
In line with these developments, Agrihouse Foundation is bringing together fifty (50) queen mothers, with representatives also from Academia, policy, Government, development agencies and Agric institutions, to explore further opportunities within the agric sector, as well as conflict resolutions alternatives towards Peace-building, and the development of sustainable farmers in the country. Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, has described the event, ‘GATHERING OF THE ROYALS,’ as a much-needed intervention, that will contribute significantly to policy direction and structuring of innovative Agricultural systems and approaches.
She said the event is aimed at making room for royals and corporate leaders, to digest issues pertaining to food security and self-sufficiency, which can help to stabilize and sustain farmers at the community levels. “We are positive by the end of the meeting, dialogues and conversations, we would have contributed to creating sustainable working relationships that strengthen collaborative efforts between our corporate bodies, stakeholders and traditional leaderships,” she has noted in a press release.
According to the Executive Director, the queen mothers will engage in an interrupted panel conversation to discuss major concerns hindering the growth and sustainability of women farmers in their districts and communities. They will touch on concerns such as access to funds and ready market; warehouse and storage facilities, cost of transportation at supply and delivery points, Fulani Herdsmen, and Elephant Invasion, Illegal Small scale – farming, FDA certification, child trafficking and child labour, among others, siting case studies of developmental projects and interventions they are spearheading in their districts and communities.
A strong case study is in Manya Krobo in the Eastern region, where queen mothers have started the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association (MKQMA) in order to help children who have been orphaned because of HIV and AIDS. The group was started by Nana Okleyo. Studies of the association’s work in the Manya Krobo District shows that it was a good model of how to address the issue of orphans in Ghana and West Africa. There are approximately 370 queen mothers involved in MKQMA. In addition, the MKQMA, under the leadership of Manye Esther, has developed HIV/AIDS prevention programs and helped support more than 400 orphans.
Another case study, recently published in Thomson Reuter Foundation, reveals some 10,000 Queen Mothers in Ghana are supporting and empowering their communities by bringing social and economic changes to women and children across the country. According to the article, in the Lawra Traditional Area in the upper western corner of Ghana, Queen Mothers are very influential at grassroots level, “especially among women,” says Dogkudome Tegzuylle I, a midwife in Lawra town and the Pognaa (Queen Mother) of Lyssah. To support themselves as women, the Queen Mothers have created small income-generating projects based on their community’s natural resources, such as shea butter. They have initiated soap making, beekeeping and hairdressing groups, as well as informal savings and loan clubs.
More of such relevant positive socio-economic impacts will be highlighted among the eight queen mothers from Bono East, West-North, Ashanti, Eastern, Western, Oti, Upper East, Upper West and Greater Accra region, who will be partiicpanting in the Panel Conversation expected to take place at the event, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, has noted.
The panel conversation is expected to create room for the queen mothers to elaborate on Agricultural development initiatives they are championing in their various clans and districts. The challenges and modules that are proving successful and how working with relevant stakeholders can add to the social and economic impacts they are making in their regions, districts and communities. They are expected to touch on concerns such as; inappropriate farming methods and practices and it effect on growth, access to funds, ready market; warehouse, storage facilities, cost of transportation at supply and delivery points.
They will also touch on issues relating to Fulani Herdsmen, Elephant Invasion, Illegal Small scale – farming, child trafficking, lands, child labour, FDA certification, operations of Agric input dealers, machinery and equipment, Irrigation systems, over reiliance on rains and other related issues, influencing resilience building and stability of farmers and farming activities. The event will also allow for feedback and input from present participants on solution-oriented measures that can positively influence Agricultural growth, enhance livelihoods and contribute to food security within their respective communities.
“At the end of the event, we are expecting to have come-up with workable solutions and built a closer working relationship between traditional authorities, corporate bodies, Academia, development partners, Government agencies, among others. We believe, we would have also assisted to project ground issues, that could direct and inform policy,” Alberta emphasized.
She said the event presents an opportunity for Traditional leaders to work closely with governments, businesses, development partners, academia and civil society to galvanize sound policies, actions and leadership that will enable transformations required to create inclusive, resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems that deliver for people, planet and prosperity.
The event further creates an atmosphere for productive and healthy conversations to take place, among traditional leaders, selected parliamentarians, development partners and the corporative institutions, to ignite collaborations in strategic areas for high impacts, and provide practical, realistic and achievable solutions for Peace and Agri-development,” she emphasized.
It is also expected to highlight the wealth of our natural resources, the large, young and growing Agri-population; the potentials and the right opportunities for Agri-business growth and development, whiles drilling down into the key issues, with case studies focusing on our Regional Agricultural strengths and serve as a networking opportunity for agric stakeholders, whiles celebrating the many dynamic efforts of our traditional leaders.
The Gathering of Royals event has over the last 3 years, been held as part of the Women in Food and Agric Leadership Training Forum and the Gold in the Soil Awards, which is annually sponsored by the Canadian High Commission, Yara Ghana, ABSA, OCP and RDF Ghana LBG. “The 1st was held in the Volta Region, 2nd in the Ashanti Region and 3rd in the Upper East Region. It is being held as an independent event, for the 4th time, here in the Greater Accra Region,” she said.
Touching on the need for partnerships in support of such relevant initiatives, Ms. Alberta Nana Aykaa Akosa Sarpong, has noted that investing in the country’s agric sector is an practical way of creating sustainable wealth for families and communities. She has therefore called on corporate organisations, government agencies, civic society organizations, financial institutions, among others, to continue supporting Agrihouse Foundation, as the organization aims to influence the country’s agricultural sector positively by initiating projects and events that educate, train and build the capacity of farmers and all value chain actors in the country.
Fifty (50) queen mothers, together with representatives from Academia, policy, Government, development agencies and Agric institutions, will be converging at the GNAT Conference Hall – Accra, to explore further opportunities within the agric sector, as well as conflict resolutions alternatives towards Peace-building, and the development of sustainable farmers in the country.
An initiative of Agrihouse Foundation, the developmental-Influencing event, which has been scheduled for Tuesday, Feburary 22, 2022, is on the theme, “The Role of Royals in Accelerating Agri-Peace and Developing Sustainable Farmers”.
In a press statement, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, described GATHERING OF THE ROYALS, as a much-needed intervention, that will contribute significantly to policy direction, assist in structuring appropriate approaches, practices, systems and innovations for a sustained agricultural value and growth, from the community level to the top level.
She said, the focused interractive event, will also make room for royals, traditional authorities, community leaders and corporate leaders, to digest issues pertaining to food security and self-sufficiency, which can further help to stabilize and sustain farmers at the community levels.
“We are positive by the end of the event, we would have contributed to creating a sustainable working relationships, that strengthen collaborative efforts between our corporate bodies, stakeholders and traditional leaderships,” she said.
As part of the half-day event, there will be a Panel conversation, which will see eight (8) queen-mothers from Bono East, West-North, Ashanti, Eastern, Western, Oti, Upper East, Upper West and Greater Accra region, elaborate on Agricultural development initiatives they are championing in their various clans and districts. The challenges and modules that are proving successful and how working with relevant stakeholders can add to the social and economic impacts they are making in their regions, districts and communities.
The Queen Mothers will have an interrupted session to discuss major concerns hindering the growth and sustainability of women farmers in their districts and communities. They are expected to touch on concerns such as; inappropriate farming methods and practices and it effect on growth, access to funds, ready market; warehouse, storage facilities, cost of transportation at supply and delivery points.
They will also touch on issues relating to Fulani Herdsmen, Elephant Invasion, Illegal Small scale – farming, child trafficking, lands, child labour, FDA certification, operations of Agric input dealers, machinery and equipment, Irrigation systems, over reiliance on rains and other related issues, influencing resilience building and stability of farmers and farming activities.
The event will also allow for feedback and input from present participants on solution-oriented measures that can positively influence Agricultural growth, enhance livelihoods and contribute to food security within their respective communities.
“At the end of the event, we are expecting to have come-up with workable solutions and built a closer working relationship between traditional authorities, corporate bodies, Academia, development partners, Government agencies, among others. We believe, we would have also assisted to project ground issues, that could direct and inform policy, Alberta emphasized.
The Royals presents an opportunity for Traditional leaders to work closely with governments, businesses, development partners, academia and civil society to galvanize sound policies, actions and leadership that will enable transformations required to create inclusive, resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems that deliver for people, planet and prosperity.
The event creates an atmosphere for productive and healthy conversations to take place, among traditional leaders, selected parliamentarians, development partners and the corporative institutions, to ignite collaborations in strategic areas for high impacts, and provide practical, realistic and achievable solutions for Peace and Agri-development,” she emphasized.
It is also expected to highlight the wealth of our natural resources, the large, young and growing Agri-population; the potentials and the right opportunities for Agri-business growth and development, whiles drilling down into the key issues, with case studies focusing on our Regional Agricultural strengths and serve as a networking opportunity for agric stakeholders, whiles celebrating the many dynamic efforts of our traditional leaders.
The Gathering of Royals event has over the last 3 years, been held as part of the Women in Food and Agric Leadership Training Forum and the Gold in the Soil Awards, which is annually sponsored by the Canadian High Commission, Yara Ghana, ABSA, OCP and RDF Ghana LBG.
The 1st was held in the Volta Region, 2nd in the Ashanti Region and 3rd in the Upper East Region.
It is being held as an independent event, for the 4th time, here in the Greater Accra Region.
This year Agrihouse Foundation will be guided by the theme, “Our Year of Working Smart to Strengthen our Impact on Farmers and Value Chain Actors,” Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, has state.
According to the Executive Director, among other objectives, the theme is expected to guide Agrihouse to strengthen its existing relationships with its stakeholders; establish new relationships that will enable the team accomplish more socio-economic impacts within the country’s agricultural value chain, this year.
“Working smart also means doubling our efforts; using all available channels to better tell our impact stories; scale up in areas where we are lacking, while driving new initiatives and building bridges to close existing gabs within the agricultural sector,” she said.
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong
In the past seven years, Agrihouse Foundation has been at the forefront of promoting and changing the negative perceptions surrounding agriculture, through tactical programs and initiatives for students, women, farmers, farming associations, agribusinesses and the entire actors within the value chain.
The interventional projects and events focus on empowerment, grooming, leadership, best practices, and management training programs that lead to effecting positive changes in the minds, field, and economic status of stakeholders, and in the communities in which the organization operates. Agrihouse foundation further undertakes agri-focused exhibitions, trade promotions, research and communications, concept development and investor relations.
“The goal is to driving and shape the Agricultural conversations in Ghana and beyond. We have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the agric. sector, media overview and its dynamics,” Alberta noted in an interview.
She said the Foundation desires to create focused platforms, dedicated to increasing innovation, communication, advocacy, and initiate highly impactful agriculture projects that cut across all sex and acts: men, women, students, farmers, governments.
“The Foundation works in close collaboration with its sister company, Agrihouse Communications,” she revealed, “We derive satisfaction in making agriculture lively, exciting and competitive. Our dedication to agriculture is our fuel and we are excited to see people involved and committed to the projects we bring to life,” she said. The team at Agrihouse Foundation, with a combined experience of thirty years, is passionate about initiating and driving projects that address issues and challenges in the agriculture sector. These projects include the following:
Agricultural Students’ Career Guidance & Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp (AG-STUD): this practical beginner Agribusiness initiative is designed to develop agric students, beginner agribusinesses and start- up’ expertise, while exposing them to the dynamics of the market, through education and leadership programs essential for achieving success in agriculture and agribusiness. In the past four years, AG-STUD-AFRICA, has benefitted over 1000 agribusiness students and beginner agribusinesses develop strong and bankable business plans. The bootcamp has empowered over 500 students from 30 different schools have with entrepreneurship skills, and supported them with start-up capital to start their agri-businesses; about 250 beginner agribusinesses have been established by students who have participated in AG-STUD. This year, AG-STUD is expected to come off from March 28 to April 1.
Livestock Poultry & Fisheries Trade Show (LiPF): The tradeshow aims to ensure all facets of the agricultural sector, including animal agricultural production, receive equal attention and resources. The annual event offers participants the opportunity to exhibit their products and services, engage in panel discussions and dialogues and go through training sessions, such as Livestock Training Session • Piggery Training Session• Rabbit Training Session • Cattle Training Session • Fisheries & Aquaculture Training Session • Grasscutters Training Session • Snail Training Session. Since the first edition, LiPF has engaged over 50,000 sub holder farmers with a significant percentage of them expressing interest in animal agriculture. Feedback received from the previous editions reveal that 87% of participants are very impressed with the event and want more training in poultry, piggery, rabbit, cattle, and piggery farm; 90% say that LiPF is a perfect introductory training platform for people who want to venture in animal agricultural production. This year, the two-day event has been scheduled to come off from May 5 to May 6.
Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Forum (WOFAGRIC) and Gold in the Soil Awards:this project was designed and first implemented in 2019 by Agrihouse to enable women develop their agricultural skills, motivate, mentor and build upon their capabilities to becoming independent. WOFAGRIC, over the past years has helped shape and build more professionals in the field of agriculture, importantly, has been a source of women empowerment. The two-part project has over the years acknowledged the industriousness of women in agriculture by awarding them through the Gold in the Soil Awards. This awards scheme goes a long run to motivate other women to venture into the fields of agriculture business. In 2019, almost a quarter of the nominees for the Gold in the Soil Awards made entries into the National Best Farmers Award Scheme at district, regional and national levels.
About 7 of them won laurels at the district and regional levels whist 2 of them picked up awards at the National awards. Over 25% of participants are now thriving as agribusiness owners because of the agribusiness management training they receive during the events. Most of the women have taken up leadership roles within their within their communities and regions, as aggregators, NGO Founders, Women Farmer Organization leaders, among others. In 2021, about 50% of women farmers recorded at the event manage 10 to 65 acres of farmland, and are between the ages 25-65years, with a number of them being women farmers with a physical disability. This year, WOFAGRIC and Gold in the Soil Awards is scheduled to come off from June 22 to June 23.
Annual Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions:the Annual Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions is the only project that was handed down to Agrihouse Foundation by USAID, as part of the organizations exiting strategy. The event has become one of the leading and highly impactful interventional market linkage events on the Ghanaian Agribusiness calendar, providing long-term market development opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses. The award-winning market-linkage platform promotes business partnerships among value chain actors, especially farmers, buyers, processors, government, Development partners, transporters, input dealers, civil society, equipment dealers, financial institutions, telecom companies and policy makers.
Pre-harvest culminates with conferencing events, presentations, exhibitions and market place for business-to-business meeting. It also serves as a dynamic platform for farmers to negotiate and seal contracts, and seeks to strengthen the capacity of Farmer Based Organizations (FBO’s), Aggregators, Processors and value chain actors for them to play a key role as agricultural market actors. It further assists farmers and agribusinesses to expand their businesses before and after harvesting. The three-day event will come off from October 5 to October 7.
1 household, 1 Garden Initiative (1h,1g):The 1 household, 1 garden is an initiative collaterally intended to further scaleup government’s ongoing efforts to support families and communities to be more self-reliant, while its core objective is to provide Ghanaians a simple and easily accessible source of augmenting their daily food need without often stepping out beyond their homes.The 1household, 1 garden initiative essentially aims at triggering a wave of self-sufficiency and enhanced nutrition through the ignition of interest in home gardening, in the wake of COVID-19, to mitigate the effects of food accessibility. The hope is this national home gardening agenda will ensure a liberal supply of quality food to Ghanaians, while waiting for Covid-19 to decline. Thus, Agrihouse assists households set up a home vegetable garden, provide training, seedlings of 12 assorted vegetables, fertilizers and gardening tools, and also provide some level of supervision to interested households.
International Farmers and Agribusiness Resilience and Sustainability Convention (INTAFAC): INTAFAC seeks to bring together Farmers and the members of the Agribusiness sector to influence transformation; with focus on public-private partnerships, investment opportunities, significantly raise the bar and create an action-driven blueprint towards further agricultural development in the country. INTAFAC will set a stage for open and informed dissuasions and debates on major social, human and environmental obstacles that hinders the development of a buoyant Agri-economic, market resilience and self-sustainable Agri- institution.
The convention will engage Agri-leaders, players and experts from government; Farmer based Organizations, development partners, Finance, businesses, technology, academia and actors. They will share their knowledge and expertise on how the agricultural sector in Ghana can begin to focus, develop and adopt strategies, policies, and techniques, that will positively impact and scale up efforts, in building a sustainable, commercially viable and all-inclusive Agricultural sector. The event is expected to come off in March.
The Agri-Woman Marketplace: the marketplace seeks to support women Agribusinesses recover, grow and promote their farm produce, products and services. It provides free exhibitions and marketing space for the women to sell and promote their products and services, whiles opening up their access to markets. Fully sponsored by Agrihouse Foundation, the initiative empowers women led agribusinesses, as a way of helping them to recover fully from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 200 women farmers and women-led agribusinesses have so far benefited from the agri-woman marketplace event, which also offers opportunity for knowledge sharing and capacity-building dialogues. The event has created networking opportunities for agri-women in areas such as farming, processing, packaging, marketing, IT service providers among others. This has led to increase in their sales, with a number of them securing major deals with local and international companies that purchase raw and semi-processed agricultural produce. The event is expected to resume at the forecourts of Agrihouse Foundation, in March, this year.
AgriWatchgh News Portal and Mobile App:AgriWatchgh: AgriWatchgh is a agric-focused news portal and a bi-weekly newsletter platform of Agrihouse Foundation that updates stakeholders with agricultural news, issues, and trends regionally, nationally and globally. You can access to relevant and timely agric news at www.agriwatchgh.com. AgriWatchgh News Portal was initiated in the early months of 2019, at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, when the Foundation noticed the dire socio-economic implications the spread of the virus was having on the agricultural sector, in the country and beyond. A year down the line, AgriWatchgh New Portal has become a fast growing, prominent news website, among Ghanaians and international stakeholders.
AgriWatch News App: The fast growing visibility and general acceptance of AgriWatch News Portal necessitated the design and implementation of the mobile news App, ‘AgriWatch News App’ makes accessing news on ‘AgricWatch News Portal,’ easier and more convenient for readers. The mobile ‘AgriWatch News App.’ is on the Google Play Store. With these relevant and trustworthy news platforms, the Foundation seeks to continue expanding it communications portfolio and make agriculture-related news more related, exciting and friendly to all Ghanaians and agri-stakeholders across the globe.
Agrihouse Communications
This is the sister company of Agrihouse Foundation, with personnel’s who have vast knowledge in Ghana’s agric sector. This background makes Agrihouse Communications preferred corporate organization serving the agric sector as well as for the entire sectoral stakeholders. With our practical and experiential Public Relations expertise, Media Relations and proven Events Management, our company remains high on the list in this special niche. Agri-comms provides a broad range of communication service packages designed to deliver the best communication derived successes to our clients, ranging from media relations, social media or digital communication, public relations, new media and result oriented events.
Our Gratitude to Sponsors, Partners and Beneficiaries
Expressing her gratitude, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa Sarpong, noted that Agrihouse Foundation has never been alone on this journey of driving social and economic impacts and sustainability within the country’s agricultural sector. She therefore extended her immense gratitude to all corporate organizations and sponsors, organizing partners and collaborating institutions, stakeholders and beneficiaries who have for years committed to the growth and sustainability of the interventional initiatives designed and implemented by Agrious Foundation. “This year we are going to work smarter,” she reiterated, “the team is set to scale up on our initiatives to make more impacts in the lives of farmers and all other actors within the value chain.”
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa has reiterated the need for improved agri-financing, knowledge sharing, and building resilience within the country’s agric sector.
She said, such efforts, when invested in and scaled up would enable the creation and sustainability of an effective agri-foods market, that will serve the country efficiently, beyond the pandemic.
In light of this year’s theme for the 3-days event, “Working Together to Improve Market Channels for Agri-foods Beyond the Pandemic,” she has urged government and private stockholders within the sector to invest in value chain partnerships that would propel sustained development within the value chain.
“The pandemic has taught us the need for preparedness. And now is the time for all us to work together, both private and public stakeholders, to scale-up value chain initiatives like this one— the Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions, as a modern module for the continuous growth and transformation of market systems for Agri-foods,” she said.
She further called for more support for the establishment of the ‘Agrihouse Agri-Village,’ which she said, would be a home for hundreds of agribusinesses in the country, whiles supporting to fully commercializing the sector.
The venue, she explained, would house different type of farm sites; Demonstration Centers Conference and Workshop halls, Restrooms, Exhibition stores for Agric Companies, Training and Recreational Centers, Storage and Processing Centers, Production rooms, and Laboratories and Research Centers.
“We are committed to this vision at Agrihouse Foundation, and I will therefore use this opportunity to call on our sponsors, corporate bodies, government and collaborating agencies, financial institutions, media partners, and development partners to stand boldly with us in these times, to commit and invest in this vision a reality,” she said.
Ms. Akosa made these comments at the recent 3-days 11th Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions, organized by Agrihouse Foundation, in Tamale, in the Northern from Tuesday, 19 October to Thursday, 21 October.
This year’s event was in collaboration with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council – NRCC, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
Sponsors of the event were YARA, Ecobank Ghana PLC, World Food Programme, ADB-Agricultural Development Bank, GIZ MOAP, Demeter Ghana Limited, United Fertilizers Company Limited (UFCL), and HD PLUS.
For his part, the Northern Regional Minister, hon. Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, noted that although agriculture accounts for over 74% of northern Ghana’s employment, the rich and diverse agricultural potential of the region was largely untapped.
“It is against this background that, we here in the north, appreciating the measurable gains we are seeing in our region here in the north since the advent of the Pre-Harvest event” he underscored.
He said the platform has over the years, become an avenue that pulls together the largest number of agricultural value chain actors and agribusinesses in Ghana; consequently, helping farmers and agribusinesses to access new market opportunities, increase their knowledge and improved their higher yields annually.
“Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I should say that it has become rightly imperative that we all Work together to support the Preharvest event platform. That is the only practical way of ensuring that, ultimately, the desired growth and transformation of Ghana’s Northern Regions’ agricultural sector would be achieved,” he noted.
The West African Regional Director of YARA, Mr. Danquah Addo Yobo, for his part reiterated YARA’s commitment to the country’s agric sector, especially, to agricultural activities and farmers in the Northern regions of the country.
He revealed YARA has launched a new Mobile App, called “Farm Go,” to help farmers predict weather conditions accurately; which will enable them plan their farming activities, maximize their time to ensure more productivity.
“When we launched it this year, we were expecting that we will have about 2,500 downloads to end the year and then build up from there; today we have about 10, 000 farmers that have downloaded the app. We are very encouraged and it is our show of support,” he said.
He said YARA has in this year, also launched the ‘Sustainable Soya beans Production in Northern Ghana,’ Project, which underscores the importance of soya production in the Northern region; how it influences food security and the regions poultry sector.
“It is a four year project being supported by NORAD, a Norwegian fund. We expect that in the four years, we will reach at least a 100, 000 soya farmers. It is a value chain approach, so we are working with aggregators, processors, and the poultry industry. Just as we have been able to build the pre-harvest project we Agrihouse, we want to build the project that will create sustainability after the four years,” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr. Dan Sarkey, noted that even in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the country’s agricultural sector has proven very resilient, by demonstrating a historic highest cocoa production last year.
He said Ecobank recognizes the importance of agriculture to the country’s economy, and that is why, “we continue to strengthen and grow our agribusiness portfolio as a means to positively impact our communities in job creation and increased agricultural productivity,” he stressed.
In light of this, he said Ecobank has setup the agribusiness desk under the commercial banking division of the bank. He said Ecobank has further financed the Wenchi and Tain Maize Farmers Federation (WTMFF), a farmer-based organization made up of 61 FBO’s with membership of 1,800 out of which 45 percent are women, to cultivate 1970 acres of maize to meet supply contract of the Yedent Group of Companies.
“Ecobank’s financing also directly impacted input suppliers of weedicides, pesticides, fertilizers, tractors and all the needed agricultural implements for farming,” he added.
He urged farmers and all other value chain stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the 11th Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions, to embrace Ecobank’s digital products such as Ecobank Mobile, Ecobank Paywith, Ecobank online, and Ecobank OmniLite, which are available for collections, transfers and payments, which constitute the frequently used banking activities of farmers.
A representative of Agricultural Development Bank, Mr. Fredrick Yaw Opoku, noted that ADB’s commitment to the agricultural sector remains unmatched, especially, since 2017 when a new board and management team was put in place with the mandate to refocus the core direction of agricultural financing.
“We launched the Broiler Value Chain Programme in 2020 with an estimated amount of 500 million Ghana cedis, seeking to revitalize the broiler subsector and to put an end to the huge foreign exchange spent on yearly basis to import poultry into the country,” he revealed.
He said the bank continues to increase its lending to the agricultural sector, with the aim of meeting the strategic objective of increasing the share of agricultural loans to at least 50 percent of the total loan portfolio.
The Chief of Bamvim Traditional Area, Bamvim-Lana, Alhaji Mahama Abdulai ll, for his part noted that, o ver the last ten years, the Pre-harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference has become one of the key events that has supported the growth and development of Agriculture in Northern Ghana.
He said the platform has been very consistent annually, growing strong and linking farmers to Agro Input dealers, Agricultural machinery and equipment dealers, Aggregators and farm produce buyers.
“I can confidently and unequivocally state that the Pre-Harvest Conference and Exhibition is one of the leading if not the leading agricultural conferences and market platforms in Ghana,” he said.
For her part, the Northern Regional Director of Agriculture, Hajia Hawa Musah, described this year’s theme as time and appropriate, considering the negative impacts the COVID-19 Pandemic has had on all sectors of the national economy, the agric sector included.
“However I want to assure you that there is no cause for alarm. We pray for more showers of rain to record a bumper harvest,” she added.
She said even though the region has inadequate machinery and equipment for timely harvesting, now is the time for government and private stakeholders in the agric sector to invest in machinery to help reduces effects like post-harvest losses.
11th Pre-harvest Exhibitions and Conference Activities
The 3-days leading market linkage event opened on Tuesday, October 19th, and run until Thursday, October 21. The edition, which was on theme “Working Together to Improve Market Channels for Agri-foods Beyond the Pandemic,” took place at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, in Tamale in the Northern region.
The leading agribusiness market linkage conference and exhibitions event, featured major training and capacity session, such as, commodity breakout session, farmer-buyer matchmaking dialogues, showcasing successful agribusiness modules, exhibitions, agri-youth forum, gender workshop, development partner panel conversation, and practical field demonstrations exercises.
The event further highlighted and addressed the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified within the sector, the effects it has posed on marketing Agri-foods, while exploring existing market channels to address these challenges.
A key highlight of the 3-day event was the Field demonstrations, where farmers and actors got to practically learn, appreciate and adopt best practices in Farm Management. This took place at the Agrihouse Foundation AGRI-VILLAGE, a Ten (10) acre land, donated by the Bamvim Lana (Chief of Bamvim.
In the short to long term, the Agrihouse Foundation Agri-village is expected to house different type of demonstrations farms (including seeds and Livestock Farms), Demonstration Centres, Conference / Workshop halls, Restrooms, Exhibition stores for Agric Companies, Training and Recreational Centres, Storage space, Processing Centres, Production room, Laboratories and Research Centres.
Impacts of Pre-harvest Over the Years
Pre-harvest has created and continues to connect, through exhibitions, and training sessions, companies that are into fertilizers, seeds, Irrigation, machinery and equipment, Finance, Transportation, ICT, Processors, Packagers, Marketers, Government Institutions, Development Partners, among others. Over 90% of companies and participants have been linked to markets through the Exhibitions.
Pre-harvest has become a leading event on the Ghanaian agricultural calendar and has served as a stimulating platform for training, and for creating increased stakeholder linkages, exhibitions and expanded opportunities. It operates from a facilitative dimension by presenting a highly engaging and coordinated platform that ensures that smallholder farmers are connected to markets, finance, inputs, equipment, and information.
These activities are geared towards capturing the marketing challenges faced by the actors especially in the pandemic and how other modernized marketing platforms can serve as a solution to maximize the output of the actors along the value chain. Farmers, actors along the value chain and participants will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to observe Good Agricultural Practices.
This year’s 3-days event (2021 11th edition) recorded 118 Exhibitors including farmers, traders, commodity brokers, input companies, machinery and equipment providers, transporters, financial institutions, ICT, Innovations, Poultry and Livestock companies, packaging and processing companies, development practitioners and government agencies, among others. It made room for 3200 Participants; 32 FBO’s from different regions and districts who represented over 300, 000 farmers of rice, maize, soyabeans, sorghum, millet, groundnut, vegetables, yam and tubers, etc. A total of 46 buyers negotiated and signed deals with farmers.
In 2020, (10th edition) the event recorded a total of 3,122 participants and 122 exhibitors including farmers, traders, commodity brokers, input companies, machinery and equipment providers, transporters, financial institutions, ICT, Innovations, Poultry and Livestock companies, packaging and processing companies, development practitioners and government agencies, among others.
Report on the 2019 event showed that about 70 business deals were made during the Exhibition. More than GHS232, 420, 745 of agri products and equipment were sold and bought. The event has improved the livelihoods of the players along the value chain by boosting their confidence i.e. created a stimulus platform for collaborating with other actors for business deals/increased stakeholders linkages.
It has given agro-processors a strong drive to access their raw materials locally, agribusiness development, grown the local economy through the expansion of agribusiness opportunities and has become a platform of growth for agribusiness entrepreneurs. The event will remain one of the leading events in the country, where farmers, businesses, government and ideas meet to network, build capacity, learn and explore business opportunities, sign deals and close contracts.
In 2018, the event won the Agribusiness event of the Year, for helping to promotes business partnerships among value chain actors, especially farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers, equipment dealers, financial institutions, telecom companies and policy makers. Over the years, through continuous improvement, it has accelerated the transformation of agribusiness in Northern Ghana, alongside Government’s initiatives.
