ALBERTA NANA AKYAA AKOSA SARPONG’s PROFILE

Alberta is an Agric Advocate, intervener, initiator and implementer.  She is a passionate promoter of the Agricultural industry and a tiller of the earth herself.

Alberta is the Founder of Agrihouse Communications and Agrihouse Foundation, and the lead initiator of all the highly impactful interventions that the organization spearheads.

She is passionate and committed to making a sustainable and measurable impact within the sector, and her biggest satisfaction is to see all farmers and value chain actors happy.

Over the last five (5) years, she has led her organization to make significant contributions to the development of the agricultural sector in Ghana, through her advocacies, competence-based Training programs, leadership development and market linkages interventions, to support efforts for growth and sustainability of the sector.

Some of her initiatives and interventions, which has received national recognition includes:- the Agricultural students’ Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp(AG-STUD), the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries Training & Tradeshow(LiPF), the Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Training Forum and the Gold in the Soil Awards(WOFAGRIC), the monthly Agri-woman Market Place.

Her other initiatives are the 1 household, 1 garden project (1h,1g) and AgriWatch News Portal.

In 2018, the USAID ADVANCE project, as part of their exit strategy, also handed over to her organization, the Annual Pre-harvest Agribusiness exhibitions and conference event and support in scaling it up.

This market linkage intervention has gone up, to win Awards as the leading Agribusiness Market linkage program on the national calendar, since her organization took over.  The event has also tremendously grown from a day’s event to a 3-day event, and from the participation of 500 stakeholders to over 3000 participants annually.

Among other key impacts, her projects/interventions have supported in:

• Providing long-term market opportunities to over 197,000 less privileged farmers in the northern part of the country.

• Boosted the capacity of over 562 farmer-based organizations and aggregators to step up their role as market actors.

• Assisted farmers and 450+ agri-businesses to expand, and created an environment for new partnerships.

• Helped farmers adopt best practices for sustainability.

• Provided a platform for more than 22,000 commodity buyers to establish business relationships for the marketing of their produce.

• Technically and financially assisted in setting up over 294 businesses by young graduates, through the Agricultural students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp.

Also,

• In 4 years, her women in food and agric leadership training programme has trained, mentored and empowered over 3000 agro women from Volta Region, Ashanti Region, Upper East and Upper West Regions respectively.

• Through Alberta’s capacity building and support-based programs for women, about 20% of the nominees for the “Gold in the Soil Awards”, have made entries into the National Best Farmers Award Scheme at district, regional and national levels. About 14 of them have won laurels at the district and regional levels whilst 6 of them picked up awards at the National awards.

• Again, her interventions has contributed to strengthen over 3000 women-led agribusinesses across Ghana, formation of strong cooperatives, and motivated a paradigm shift in projecting women achievers in agribusiness.

Alberta is not only creative, but also reliable, committed and offers tested and practical solutions to challenges.

For 11 years, she has been writing consistently as an Agricultural Columnist, with the Business and Financial Times, in her bid to support create awareness and promote the sectors opportunities to attract the youth and drive in investment.

From 2017 until date, Alberta has been serving on the National Planning Committee, for the organization of the Annual National Farmers Day, under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture-Ghana.

She is credited for leading, packaging and scaling up, the Exhibitions component of the National Farmers’ Day.

Alberta, through her organization’s efforts, has the opportunity to partner  Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, to embark on a National Agricultural capacity building roadshow (dubbed “it is possible) and support a projected 27,500 beneficiaries with intensive training and assist them set-up their beginner businesses, by proving them with Rabbit, mushroom and snail starter-packs.

Already, 150 participants from the Greater Accra Region has benefitted from the initiative, which is also creating jobs and offering diverse opportunities to the beneficiaries. The roadshow will next, move to the North East Region.

Alberta has also been engaged in public relations and corporate communications both in Ghana and across the continent for over 17 years, providing clients with market relevant communications services in over 25 African markets. She has a long track record,  of credible and successful management across diverse sectors.

Alberta’s experience includes issue and reputation management, communications strategy development, crisis communications, public affairs, CSR, brands positioning, investor and media relations. A strategic communications practitioner,

Alberta has had the opportunity (both past and present), to work on key communications and projects with a number of local and international brands including YARA Ghana, AMG Fertilizers, OCP Africa, Interplast Puma Energy, IE Signagore, Nokia, General Electrics(GE), Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Alcatel-lucent, Drysvale and Samsung.

She has also worked on programs for  GIZ, National Communications Authority (NCA), AGRA, USDA-GPP, USAID ADVANCE, FAO, Barclays (now ABSA), VIVO Energy, Embassy of Brazil, Israel Embassy, Norwegian Embassy, Agritop,  etc, etc.

Alberta has also assisted in the implementation of some key projects such as the African Green Revolution (AGRF), AU Summit, UEFA Champions League, CAN 2008, the Vice President’s campaign for Greater discipline (Do the Right thing), the CNN African Journalists of the Year Awards, the Young World Food Day, and many others.

Business Associations, Development Partners, local and international organizations, also call upon her to facilitate trainings for, or address a group, students, professionals or corporate audience on a range of topics.

Her Foundation’s drive and commitment is to contribute to mind-set change and create a more desirable sector that is open to learning, to create, to innovate, to lead, to share, to impact to grow, to invest and to expand, through an all-inclusive approach, where creativity and innovation takes the centre stage.

Her works and interventions are continuously making significant contributions to the development of the agricultural sector, whiles ensuring that growth in all facets of the agriculture sector are in tandem; receiving equal attention and resources, as they all deserve.

Alberta and her Team are currently developing a 10-acre land in Bamvim, into a modern and standard Agr-village, which aims at providing shelter and conducive environment, for the preservation of quality and quantity of plants and crops, increase the productivity of animals and farmers, and ensure safety and good working condition of machineries and equipment.

The Project, when completed will be the 1^st of its kind in the country, with different types of farms, including seed and Livestock Farms, Laboratories, Training and Conference halls.

It will also have a Research Units, Exhibition stores for agric companies, Exhibition Grounds, Training, Recreational and educational centre, Storage space, Production room, Training and Demonstration Fields, Processing rooms, mechanized centres, library, nursery units and facilities to host agricultural events.

It will also serve as an academy for training Ghana’s sustainable farmers and to grow the Agri-tourism industry.

A cattle and Goat farmer herself, Alberta is indeed happy to be at the forefront of changing the narrative in Ghana, by making positive contributions and efforts, which ultimately helps to create the needed awareness, sustain thousands of jobs across the agricultural value chain; providing effective training and growth in the agricultural sector in Ghana.

She is committed to making farming lucrative and ensuring that her initiatives and every project she embarks on, have a positive influence socio-economically, whiles having a human and environmental impact on the overall agricultural agenda.