Tamale to host 3rd Focus on Agriculture Expo
The third edition of Focus on Agriculture conference and exhibition would be held in Tamale where stakeholders would deliberate on strategies to transform subsistence farming into commercially viable market-driven agriculture.
The conference, being organized by the African Connections (AC) Ghana Limited, an NGO, in collaboration with the Ministries of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA would be held from Wednesday, October 3 to Friday, October 5, 2012..
The three-day exhibition would be supported by USAID/ACDI-VOCA (ADVANCE); GiZ, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; the northern Rural Growth Programme; International Development Center; Antrak Air, Stanbic Bank and Yara under the theme: “Market driven Agriculture for Accelerated Rural Economic Development”.
Over 200 participants from Farm-Based Organizations (FBO), outgrowers, nucleus farmers, aggregators, transporters, input supplies, agro processors, equipment suppliers and manufacturers, local authorities, financial institutions, development partners, financial institutions, researchers and local civil society organizations would be attending.
Dr Ayisha S. Hakeem, Managing Director of AC, speaking at a media launch, said the exhibition would run concurrently with the conference workshops to connect producers to buyers.
She said this year’s exhibition would not only focus on goods and services but also provide an opportunity for development partners and other agricultural institutions operating in the North to showcase gains so far achieved on their various projects.
“The daily workshops are to provide a platform for participants to discuss and find workable solutions to some of the pertinent issues affecting the activities of actors in the agricultural value chain. Issues such as agricultural financing; private sector investment; agriculture commercialization; and improving agricultural technology transfer, among others, would be thoroughly discussed during the two day forum,” she said.
Dr Hakeem said over the past 10 years AC had partnered MOFA to improve smallholder livelihoods; strengthen FBO activities and the value chain system.
She said Focus on Agriculture was instituted in 2009 to provide a platform for stakeholders in the agriculture value chain to brainstorm and adopt practical strategies to address challenges hindering the growth of the sector.
“We have over the course of the years, implemented market-driven agribusiness initiatives that have not only helped to improved farmer productivity; profitability and improve access of smallholders to markets but also promoted local economic development,” she said.
She said the conference was aimed at exploring methods of increasing productivity of small scale farmers towards world production levels; examine financing options and solutions to agricultural finance challenges; strategize on increasing competitiveness and value chain integration, and explore ways to accelerate rural economic development through agriculture.
Dr Hakeem said AC believed that there was the need for a paradigm shift from subsistence agriculture to enable agriculture reach its full potential as an engine of growth in Ghana and that could only be achieved ‘if we continuously strengthen the value chain system to help smallholders who contribute about 80 per cent to the sector to transition into commercial agriculture”.
She announced that the AC was currently engaged as a Technical Service Provider by SADA to facilitate the cultivation of maize in Atebubu-Amantin, Sene and Pru Districts of the Brong Ahafo Region.
“We are using its market-driven agriculture strategy to help smallholder maize farmers to produce in commercial quantities by training them on improved farming methods to boost yields and quantity,” she said.
Dr Paul Schuctz, Programme Manager, Market –Oriented Agriculture Programme, GiZ /MOAP said MOAP stood for Market oriented Agriculture and had since its inception been involved in developing value chains.
“MOAP has been promoting citrus, pineapple and mango as perennial high level crops in the form of value chain. In addition and with focus on northern part of Ghana we have also been promoting chili pepper production, processing and marketing. Specifically for the north of Ghana, we have also promoted guinea fowl value chain,” he said.
He, therefore, commended AC for organising such a platform for many stakeholders with long practical experiences to discuss in depth issues of making agriculture more professional.
Dr Kehinde Makinde, Country Director, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), pledged to work with AC and other partners beyond the conference to monitor progress toward the implementation of the action points emanating from the conference.
Source: GNA