Pre-harvest exhibition to showcase agri-tech
The role of technology in boosting modern-day agriculture will be the focus of a key discussion session at this year’s Pre-harvest exhibition and conference set for October 3 to 5 at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale.
A statement issued in Accra by Agrihouse Foundation, organizers of the event and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday said technology has opened up new opportunities in many industries including agriculture and creating agri-tech entrepreneurs.
It said in Ghana, many agriculture start-ups have emerged, offering services such as providing easy access to tractors services for farmers and providing online marketplace for agricultural produces.
It said consequently, the advent of new technologies and its impact on farmers’ output would be a key feature of a panel discussion at the Pre-harvest event under the Agri-tech workshop.
The statement said it would showcase ideas like Agriculture incubation, a soil testing van, Aflasafe and Ripping technologies, amongst others with participating institutions including Kosmos Energy, OCP, IITA and John Deere.
The expanded three-day event would have separate workshops to discuss Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) with a presentation by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) on the its goals, targets and progress to date.
It said the University for Development Studies (UDS), would also undertake an assessment of the PFJ’s implementation, lessons learnt and the way forward and would be followed by a panel discussion on the topic with discussants from MoFA, UDS, Yara Ghana, USAID ADVANCE and farmers.
During the event development partners would have a roundtable to discuss the importance of young people’s participation in agriculture, the largest employer in the country, as a way of reducing youth unemployment.
Panellists would be drawn from World Food Programme, Yara Ghana, USAID, KOICA, UK, representatives from the Dutch embassy and the Youth in Agric Directorate of the MoFA.
The statement said there would also be several other sessions including Custom and Contract Farming and Farming with Purpose to be led by the World Food Programme, Seed Quality by NASTAG, RMG, Dizengoff and MoFA Seed Inspection Unit; Agriculture Financing led by Ecobank, Mel Consulting, GIPC and GEPA.
A Field Demo session is also expected with Green Housing by Dizengoff, Corn Sheller by Motor king, Fertilizer Application and Mechanization by Yara Ghana and John Deere.
It quoted Ms Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Organisers of the event as saying, the Pre-harvest event was one of the biggest platforms for the convergence of all stakeholders in the agriculture sector and therefore creates the biggest opportunity for business development among others.
It said over 2,000 participants and exhibitors were expected to attend to interact, establish business relationships and discuss contracts as well as explore and exploit other growth opportunities in the sector.
The event will showcase the many activities and businesses in the various areas of the agriculture sector, such as seed production, fertilizer, finance, fisheries, storage, machinery, livestock, packaging and processing, ICT among others.
Participants will be taken through practical and engaging sessions to enable them gain deeper insights into best practices to enabler the take advantage of the numerous opportunities in the sector for growth.
Source: GNA