Agrihouse Foundation, in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (UNDA) – Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), is set to launch the third edition of the Livestock, Poultry, and Fisheries Tradeshow (LiPF) on March 02, on the theme, “WE MOVE! W) YAA.”
The main event of the two-day training and exhibition tradeshow is slated for May 21 – May 22, in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winner’s Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG).
According to the Executive Director of Agrihouse, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the third edition of LiPF will afford participants, including, livestock, poultry, and fisheries farmers and exhibitors, tertiary and financial institutions, agriculture and media organizations, and development partners. The programme would provide a learning environment to explore deeper ways to take advantage of opportunities in the animal sector.
She said LiPF has come at an opportune time to inform and educate participants about alternative means to create jobs and make additional income, especially, in the livestock sector, since many people in the country now have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“LiPF is a relevant intervention as it seeks to build resilience and confidence in individuals who have lost their source of income and are looking for alternate means in these times. It is also here to encourage people who are passionate and interested in the animal sector, to let them see the multiple opportunities they can take advantage of. Even with the government and the private sector interventions, the animal sector still has several areas of opportunities that have not been tapped into. These are the areas we are aiming to highlight this year.” she said.
The organizing partner, Chief of Party of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Ms. Carianne De Boer, noted that development partners and agri-stakeholders must ensure that the public and donor investor policies truly reflect the resilient and prosperous future they envision for the agricultural sector, by taking a fresh look at the youth in agriculture programmes, and considering more robust approaches to enabling the youth to gain access to knowledge, finance, assets, and modern technology.
She said to engage and empower young people in agriculture, the sector must address young people’s aspirations and expectations, emphasizing that young people are very interested in modernized approaches to agriculture, where they can utilize their mobile phones, new techniques, and computers to manage their poultry farms.
Background
Annually, LiPF brings together hundreds of individuals, groups, and businesses within the animal value chain to showcase and promote their products and services, while training and building the capacity of persons and individuals, who want to venture into the livestock business.
The maiden edition of the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries Tradeshow was held alongside the 7th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture (AACAA), in 2019, with about one thousand participants from Ghana and other countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, among others, with over 40 Exhibitors. Exhibitors included livestock, poultry, and fisheries-based companies like Jubaili, Ghana Poultry Project, Agricare, Tilly farms, Big Stars among others.
Participants expressed their joy at the initiative and appreciated that it came at a time when the government was championing the Rearing for Food and Jobs initiative because it allowed them to showcase their goods and services, also impact their activities had on the country’s animal agricultural sector and on the Ghanaian economy, wholly.
The second edition of LiPF was held at the Efua Sutherland Children’s park last year, with about 785 participants in attendance over the two days. The second edition focused on training sessions in animal agriculture, equipping participants to step up their ideas and interest in going into animal agriculture. The training, therefore, equipped participants with basic and intermediary knowledge required for poultry, piggery, snail production, mushroom production, cattle rearing, small ruminants (sheep, goats, rabbit) rearing.
This year, the launch will outline key strategies and activities that will make up the third edition of the two events which is being planned in collaboration with knowledgeable stakeholders from agri-institutions and farmer organizations, including NBSSI, CSIR, NFFWAG, USDP-GPP, Fisheries Commission, Animal Production Directorate and Egg Secretariate.
Impacts of LiPF
Since the first edition, Agrihouse Foundation, through LiPF has built organic data over the years and has engaged over 50,000 sub-holder farmers with a significant percentage of them expressing interest in animal agriculture. The high numbers recorded and interest expressed by participants necessitated an urgent need to add and build on the training component of the event
Furthermore, analysis of the feedback received from the first edition of LiPF revealed 87% of participants wanted training in starting a poultry, piggery, rabbit, cattle, and piggery farm; 90% were of the view that a platform like LiPF was a perfect one to offer introductory training. This led to the introduction of more training sessions during the second edition of the event.
About Agrihouse Foundation
Agrihouse Foundation is a non-governmental agricultural capacity building, innovation, and project management organization, with a special focus on changing the perception of, and consciously shaping the conversation around agriculture.
In light of this, Agrihouse Foundation undertakes a number of agricultural interventional projects and events, all year round, for our farmers, agric students, agribusinesses, households into backyard farming, among others.
The projects include Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogues Bootcamp (AG- STUD); Livestock Poultry & Fisheries Trade Show (LiPF); Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Forum (WOFAGRIC) and Gold in the Soil Awards; International Farmers & Agribusiness’ Resilience and Sustainability Convention (INTAFAC), Annual Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions; The Agrihouse Agri-Woman Market Place; Agri-Watch; 1 household, 1 Garden Initiative (1h,1g).
