It is an honour and pleasure to be invited as a Special Guest Speaker to the 8^th Pre-harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference. I wish to start by commending Agrihouse and its partners particularly, the Feed the Future’s Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for organizing this exhibition to promote business partnerships among value actors especially farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers, equipment dealers, government officials, financial institutions and telecom companies. 

I also wish to underscore the significance of this year’s exhibition which you can see is bigger than we have always seen in its seven years of existence. It affirms and reflects the increased activities in the agricultural sector gingered by the flagship programmes the Government has put in place. 

Mr. Chairman, the theme of our celebration “Transforming Agribusiness in Northern Ghana: The Future Starts Now” could not have been more apt.  lt expresses two key words, transformation and urgency. In deed the future of thriving agribusinesses in northern Ghana to create jobs and turn around the fortunes of all actors starts now. The time is opportune. The sustainable Development Goals at the global level, the commitment at the continental level through the Comprehensive Africa

Agricultural Development Programme and the follow up Malabo declaration makes it compelling for countries to do more about their agricultural Sectors. It is evident that this agenda is being prosecuted by the President of the Republic of Ghana who has put in place many mutually reinforcing and integrated flagship programmes aimed at transforming the agricultural sector to bring about the needed jobs, particularly for the youth and improved livelihoods in the rural sector in particular. 

Mr. Chairman, it is evident that agriculture holds the fortunes of Ghana’s economic transformation, job creation and sustained food security, as it employs close to 45% 0f the active population, majority of Whom are women (Gss,2014). 

Therefore, transforming agribusinesses is strategically placed to drive Ghana’s economic development. Successive agricultural development strategies over the years have focused on modernizing the sector and positioning it as a major vehicle for the structural transformation of the economy through effective linkage to industry. 

Agribusiness creates important linkages and encourages investment in a way that can have strong multiplier effects on growth. It is key to fighting food insecurity, not only because it stimulates increased production but also due to It’s potential to create wealth for smallholders and rural communities. Developing a viable and vibrant agri-business sector in Ghana is a development challenge, but it is also a significant market opportunity for companies and particularly smallholder farmers who are the largest private investors in agriculture. 

Mr. Chairman, Agribusiness entails a shift to a demand driven agricultural development in which the entire value chain actors play critical roles. Agribusiness transformation involves value addition along the entire value chain, from providing inputs to farmers, to connecting them to consumers through general handling, processing, transporting, marketing and the distribution of agricultural products. Agriculture is no longer practiced just for subsistence or own needs but substantially for markets, profits and incomes.  Agriculture has become a just for technology and market-oriented industry.  Many People who work in agriculture actually do not work on the farms but engaged in businesses of seeds, fertilizer, agro chemicals, food processing, research, finance, marketing and trade.

Mr. Chairman, the broad disparities between northern and the southern Ghana in terms of economic development and well-being is still evident in the current statistics. It is therefore important that more is done to bridge the poverty divide to ensure growth with equity. The agribusiness sector holds the opportunities for this through private sector investment in off farm activities other than primary level.

Mr. Chairman, despite efforts to increase access to irrigated agriculture, the region’s agriculture remains strongly dependent on rainfed cultivation, making it highly vulnerable to climate change risks. Agricultural growth will thus have to rely on increasing both rainfed and irrigated production to provide the necessary raw material for processing and increased marketable surplus in the three northern regions to satisfy the increased economic activities expected in agribusinesses. Marketing improvement will require building food and commodity Chains to connect northern producers to markets in the South and even beyond the borders of Ghana.

In effect, a thriving agribusiness section in Northern Ghana will require significant improvements in the following:

• Productivity levels

• Commercial orientation of production to meet market demands,

• Policies that crowd in the private sector and promote strong public private partnerships (PPP) in areas of market failure

• Increasing infrastructure investments such as roads energy and water for processing

• Promoting consumption of food produced locally.

Mr. Chairman, it is in line with this, that the Government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo upon assumption of office in 2017, introduced the following flagship programmes:

1. The Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) campaign to increase productivity and production for food security, raw material supply by industry and employment.

2. The One Village, One Dam (IVID) programme to ensure‚ availability of adequate water for agricultural production all year round, especially in the northern regions

3. The One District, One Factory programme aimed at transforming the structure of the economy from one dependent on production and export of raw materials, to a value-added industrialized economy, driven primarily by the private sector.

There are also, other interventions in mechanization, irrigation, livestock development and Access to finance by various actors in the agricultural value chain by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The PFJ was reviewed in March this year after one year of implementation and the outcome was a resounding success.

• Over 200,000 beneficiary farmers (smallholders) of the campaign were supported with a total of 4,400 MT of improved seeds of maize, rice, soya bean, sorghum and Vegetables. These farmers also benefited from a total of 296,00MT of fertilizer (NPK, Ammonia and Urea) during the period.

• As a result, there were impressive increase in Production volumes of 485,000MT of maize, 179,000MT of rice, 33,400MT of sorghum, 9,750MT Of Soya bean and 42,200MT of selected vegetables under the Campaign in 2017.

• These harvests at the farm gate generated an average income of about 1.2 billion cedis to the beneficiary farmers which to a large extent enhanced their livelihood.

• An estimated 715,000 direct and indirect job opportunities were created at the farm level and another 30,000 jobs along the value chains of the commodities promoted.

• Registration of farmers to create a database is currently ongoing and 500,000 direct farmers are targeted in 2018 against 200,000 in 2017.

• The crops have also been extended to include cassava, groundnuts, cabbage and lettuce in 2018.

Under the One Village, One Dam, a total of 570 small dams are at various stages of construction in the three Northern regions (320 in the Northern region, 150 in the Upper East region and 110 in the Upper West region) to enhance access to water for agricultural production all year round.

A total of 15 factories (most of them agricultural based have been constructed and are currently operating in various areas across the country under the One District One Factory Initiative. An additional 50 are being accredited and would be commissioned by December, 2018. Another 100 factories are at various stages of assessment by various banks and will be included when finally approved

Incentives to support individuals interested in the IDIF are the following:

• A 5-year tax holiday will be extended
• All machinery and equipment will be imported duty free
• Additional raw materials will be imported duty free
• Enjoy exemption from withholding taxes
• lDlF Companies will enjoy subsidized interest rate (Borrow at 10% and Government will pay the difference)

Ladies and gentlemen, interventions by the Ministry in ensuring farmers have access to mechanization services include acquisition of tractors and small farm implements to augment the current Agricultural Mechanization Services Centres (AMSECS) already in the country. An amount of USD 150M Indian Exim bank facility has been sourced for machinery/ equipment to strengthen AMSECs across the country. Also, processes have been initiated in collaboration with the Brazilian government to set up a local factory to manufacture farm machinery and equipment suitable for small farms. The use of this equipment will reduce drudgery in land preparation and other activities along the value chain.

In the livestock subsector (pigs, sheep, goats and poultry) the Ministry will soon launch the Rearing for Food and Jobs Campaign. This will enable access to improved breeds of livestock, infrastructure development and improved. Rehabilitation of fodder banks across the country.

To enhance access to finance, the Ministry is implementing the Outgrower Value Chain Fund (OVCF) coupled with the Ghana Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending GIRSAL) in conjunction with the Bank of Ghana. The aim of GIRSAL is to share the risks between agricultural stakeholders and therefore lower cost of credit to agriculture.

The Savannah Agricultural productivity improvement project (SAPIP ) which is being implemented by the Ministry in selected districts in the Northern regions is also aims at transforming agricultural value chains for food and nutrition security, job and wealth creation in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana. The project will increase farmers food and nutrition security and incomes through increased agricultural productivity and diversification; and enhance the creation and strengthening of agribusinesses to increase incomes of actors along selected value chains on a sustainable basis.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, all these interventions are aimed at creating the enabling environment for the transformation of agribusinesses so as to provide employment to the unemployed youth and enhance income for the smallholder farmers. Just look around and take advantage of the numerous opportunities available.  The Future indeed Starts now and all efforts are being made to address the identified constrains to the development of Agribusinesses across the country.

On this note Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank you all especially the various exhibitors who have travelled across the length and breadth of the country to participate in the Exhibition.  I wish you a successful conference and exhibition

Thank you.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has admonished smallholder farmers in Ghana to pull their resources in the course of their practice so as to raise the quality of their expertise leading to an increase in demand for their services.

Speaking at a session on Custom and  Contract Farming during the 8^th Pre-harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference held in the Northern Regional Capital of Tamale from October 3-5, 2018, the Sustainable Food Coordinator of World Food Programme, Nanga Kaye stated during a discussion with participants, (mainly the youth) that it was very necessary for them as smallholder farmers to come together so as to get stronger and by so doing be able to create more job opportunities for themselves as customs and contract farmers as well as offer various farming related services to farmers and marketers at a fee with zero to little start-up capital to a point where major technologies can be adopted.

Services that Customs and Contract farmers can offer include, weeding, harvesting, transportation of produce to the market and sales.

Mr. Kaye indicated that services of custom farmers are critical in reducing post-harvest losses and therefore if those offering the said service deliver timely and effectively, there will be a scramble for their services.

Two other important sessions were led by the World Food Programme at the same event. These are, Sustainable Food System, which focused on food safety, proper warehousing and food storage methods and the Commodity session with focuses on soybean, rice and maize.

For the Sustainable Food System session, farmers were advised on the need to come together as players in agribusiness so as to be in a good position to meet the huge logistical demands of the industry. This is necessary because little will be achieved in the industry if the appropriate logistical and supply chain systems are not in place.

The challenge was thrown to them to stop at nothing until they have at least a facility for storing a hector of grains. This is because with a storage facility, the phenomenon of post-harvest losses can be drastically reduced, the quality of grains can be maintained and the right value can be attained for produce. 

The third session brought together experts mainly in Rice, Soybean and Maize productions to share ideas on best practices that will lead to high yields and the quality of grains.

In an address during the opening of the Exhibition and Conference, the Country Director of the WFP, Mrs Rukia Yacoub expressed the Programme’s delight at using a platform of this nature to support smallholder farmers who produce the majority of the food consumed yet remain among the most food-insecure livelihood groups in Ghana.

She enumerated the Programme’s plans and hoped that ultimately, it would help agro-processors in Ghana produce for the West Africa sub-region and other markets. This according to her will mean more markets for smallholder farmers’ produce, more income and better opportunity for them to extricate themselves from food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty.

The World Food Programme is a United Nations Agency presently focusing its support to national governments on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – Zero Hunger and SDG 17 – Partnerships globally.

This year’s event brought together about three thousand, one hundred twenty-two (3122) participants, one hundred and forty-four (144) exhibitors and value chain actors in the agriculture sector including farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers, equipment dealers, financial institutions, research institutions, development partners,  policy makers, Government officials,  among others.  The aim was for them to discuss and come up with practical ways by which the sector could be made more attractive and profitable through best practice as well as networking.  Partners and sponsors of the 8^th Annual Pre-harvest Exhibitions and Conference event included the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Northern Development Authority, USAID ADVANCE, Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Mel Consulting, Kosmos Energy, Interplast, Dizengoff, RMG, Hatuom Trading and LK International

Background – The Call

Various speakers at the 8th Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibition that took place at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale, from October 3 to 5, 2018 have called on stakeholders in the agriculture value chain to support in the transformation of agriculture and agribusiness into a more inclusive, equitable, climate-smart sector, oriented towards the improvement of the lives of rural poor food-insecure people.

The event which was on the theme “Agri-business in Northern Ghana- The Future starts now”, brought together about 3,122 participants and 144 exhibitors who were  mainly  into machinery and equipment, processing and packaging, inputs, transport, research institutions and regulatory bodies .

It was three days of activity full of in-depth insights, actionable and practical tools of engagement models, methods and mechanisms that were presented to participants by an array of very knowledgeable and skilful speakers who are experts in their various fields of endeavour.

Other participants, who took part in the event which is arguably Ghana’s biggest agriculture interventional platform were major players in the various sectors of the agricultural value chain such as farmers, buyers, processors,  financial institutions, policy makers and service providers.

The annual event aimed at linking smallholder farmers to markets, assisting farmers and agri-businesses to expand their businesses before and after harvesting, helping  farmers adopt best practices and creating an effectual interactive avenue to enable businesses share innovative ideas and partner for progress was organised by Agrihouse Foundation in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), USAID ADVANCE,  Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Northern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Northern Development Authority (NDA).

The three day event was opened by the Minister of State in charge of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Gyeile Nurah who represented the Vice- President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. Other speakers at the opening ceremony were World Food Programme’s Country Director, Ms. Rukia Yacoub, Her Excellency, the Canadian High Commissioner, H.E. Heather Cameron, H.H. Ron Strikker, Netherlands Ambassador, Managing Director of Yara Ghana, Danquah Addo-Yobo, Managing Director of Ecobank, Mr. Dan Sackey, Madam Lucy Quainoo of Mel Consulting, Mr. Owusu Akoto, who represented the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Salifu Saeed.

Speeches’ Highlights from the Opening Ceremony

The Vice –President’s representative, Dr Gyeile in his opening remarks called on the private sector to take advantage of the government’s One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative to
establish agro processing factories in rural areas of the country to add value to farm produce for export while, the WFP Country Director, Mrs Rukia Yacoub expressed WFP’s delight at using the Preharvest platform to support smallholder farmers improve on their productivity. She hoped that the Programme’s plans will ultimately, help agro-processors produce for the West Africa sub-region and other markets, which will mean more markets for smallholder farmers’ produce, more income and better opportunities for them.

The Managing Director of YARA Ghana, a leading crop nutrition company, Mr. Addo Danquah Yobo on his part said YARA Ghana was keen on building the right partnership and support at all levels towards transforming Ghana’s agriculture sector while the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr. Daniel Sackey in his address disclosed that, Ecobank has invested an additional $16 million to support Ghana’s agriculture value chain for the benefit of actors including farmers.

Mr. Sackey encouraged entrepreneurs and farmers to leverage on digital solutions and technology to make their businesses more productive and efficient.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Heather Cameron and the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Ron Strikker both pledged the support of their countries to Ghana’s agriculture sector to enable smallholder farmers to improve on their yields and increase their incomes.

The Director of External Relations and International Trade, Mel Consulting Limited, Ms. Lucy Quainoo stressed the commitment of her organisation to support smallholder farmers  to enhance their livelihoods and help reduce  rural poverty through their various financial services while Head of Business Tata/John Deere’s dealers in agriculture machinery ,  Mr. Aashish Rastogi expressed his company’s preparedness to collaborate with all stakeholders in the agriculture sector to provide tailor made solutions for the sector, especially smallholder farmers .

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr. Salifu Saeed on his part said his region was delighted to host such an initiative and that they are always open to programmes that put smiles on the faces of farmers and their families.

]About 600 farmers and actors participated in these sessions which were facilitated by from WFP’s Sustainable Food Coordinator –  Mr. Nanga Kaye.

Mr. Kaye who also led a discussion on Sustainable Food Systems, supply chain, logistics, warehousing and storage challenged smallholder farmers to ensure that they have storage facilities to minimise post-harvest losses.

A Panel discussion on the government’s flagship programme “Planting for Food and Jobs, the progress so far”,  indicated that,  it has led to an increase in maize  and rice production in the  country and created about 745,000 jobs.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Dr.  Abdul Majeed Haruon, a panellist, gave the assurance that his outfit would collaborate with farmers to make the Planting for Food and Jobs successful whiles Mr Addo Yobo of Yara Ghana called on government to shift attention on the program from percentage of subsidy and instead focus on the quality of inputs, timely availability of input and access.

Over one thousand five hundred (1500) of the Participants’ capacities and knowledge were built in other sessions, including Modern Agriculture Technologies, where Participants were encouraged to use existing technologies to improve their businesses. The New Developments In Agribusiness Financing session also encouraged farmers to form associations and use that as the means to attract funds.  At the Quality Seed Systems session, we learnt from a MOFA rep., Dr. Marfo that government has put in place measures to ensure that every seed is traceable, thus producers whose seeds are below standards, will eventually be out of business, whiles the Educational field demonstrations and Model farm tour, to a rice and maize farms at Chegu and Sang respectively, gave actors, insights on good agronomic practices to enhance their productivity. Resource persons for these sessions included Ecobank, Injaro, Bank of Ghana, Dizengoff, Tata John Deere, Mel Consulting, Interplast, Yara, NASTAG, GAIP, OCP, Kosmos, IITA, USAID ADVANCE, CSIR and RMG.

There was also a session on Development Partners and their Programmes for Youth In Agribusiness that discussed how the youth can tap into the various programs and projects of Development partners in the country. The resource persons from AGRA, KOICA, Kosmos Innovation Centre and WFP all submitted that, they remain open to supporting brilliant initiatives from people that can boost agribusiness.

EXHIBITIONs, BUSINESS DEALS & CONTRACTS

The 144 Companies that came to exhibit in all, were happy about the sustained patronage of the program throughout the period, majority recorded tremendous sales and were impressed about the quality of business deals struck and long term relationships built.

About 15 women, who are into processing of rice, soyabean, shea, millet, maize expressed their excitement for the long term business supply deals they signed at the event and knowledge they gained, to improve on the packaging and marketing of their products.

Visitors including expatriate acknowledged the quality of the organization of event, the patronage and variety of products that were on exhibition. “The event was very detailed, satisfactory and captured the core of agribusiness” – A visitor summarized.

Some of the smallholder farmers expressed their satisfaction at the event in totality, deals they signed with buyers, contacts to  input dealers and service providers for the next season, the impact of the  training programs, lessons learnt that will enable them, improve their businesses. “The impact was so great and we look forward to future programs”, said an exhibitor and a farmer.

Others also called for consistency and urged organizers to sustain the program and introduce other initiatives that will make Ghana’s agribusiness one of the best in the sub-region and Africa as a whole.  Some also called for the continuity of the event and more avenues for collaboration.

Agrihouse Final Remarks

The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, expressed satisfaction about the way the event went and assured that, some of the concerns raised, will be considered to improve upon future events. She also expressed gratitude to all the Exhibitors, Resource persons, Panel discussants, Government officials, Development partners, the media, Chiefs and people of the 3 Northern Regions, value chain actors, all participants and sponsors including Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Mel Consulting, Kosmos Energy, RMG, Interplast, Dizengoff, Hatuom Trading, LK International and Tata John Deere, who supported technically and financially in making the event a success. She also commended USAID ADVANCE for their technical support and congratulated WFP, their   organizing partner and main funding body, for their commitment to seeing Agric transform in Ghana and beyond.