The growing momentum of Ghana’s agriculture needs more strategic and resourced nations that could boost the fast growing sector into a stable one to sustain her citizens
According to Farmer Morrison, the CEO of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana(CAG), the Chamber is to set up the West Africa-Turkish trade facilitations desk promote agriculture trade between Ghana and Turkey.
“We intend to set up a Ghana-Turkish Trade Facilitation Desk at the chamber after our our with the Turkish ambassador to deepen the future collaboration to promote agribusiness trade between the two countries. Interestingly, the ambassador is in discussion with the University of Ghana (UG) for a capacity building for some of the students”, Farmer Morrison said.
He added that as the Chamber looks forward to deepening the Turkish-Africa SMEs program, likely for Ghana it is a strong SME start up program and the Chamber is hoping to link the SMEs to the Turkish partners to increase bilateral trade as well as tap into areas of investment, financial support, skills development, technology and many others.
He cautioned the mindset of African entrepreneurs to change as they need to be re-engaged because the Turkish entrepreneurs are fast in doing business and do not waste time in business engagements as compare to Africans.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the Seeding the Future Foundation are calling on all scientists, engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and multidisciplinary teams from non – governmental organizations (NGOs), non – profits, social enterprises, universities, research institutions as well as small and emerging for-profit enterprises to submit game changing innovations that will help transform the food system
Hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists and funded by the Seeding The Future Foundation, the Challenge is intended to support innovations that have the potential for significant impact at scale and over time, and benefit at least one or more of the following intersecting domains: nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainably produced; and accessible, appealing, affordable, and trusted by consumers.
The goal of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge is to inspire and support innovative, diverse, and multidisciplinary teams to create game-changing innovations that will help transform the food system.
Mission: Seeding The Future’s mission is to seed and support impactful initiatives and organizations that create and accelerate the pace of innovations that help transform food systems to become more nutritious, regenerative, and equitable for everyone in alignment with the overall vision.
Vision: Seeding The Future’s vision is a global food system that always provides equitable access to safe, nutritious, trusted, affordable and appealing food for everyone and improves the health of people and the planet by being sustainable, resilient, and regenerative. The moonshot goal is to positively impact the lives of one billion people.
Innovation Focus Areas
Empower Conscious Consumer Choices
Safe Nutritious Food for a Healthy Diet
Sustainable Regenerative Practices.
Award Levels
The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge will provide monetary awards in the form of grants and prizes totaling up to one million US dollars annually. They invite applicants from national or international universities, research institutions, or nonprofit organizations, as well as small or early-stage North American or European for-profit businesses.
The Challenge will provide three levels of awards to incentivize transformative food system innovations at different stages of their development. Applications can only be submitted at one award level.
Seed Grants ($25,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that are planting and nurturing high-potential, innovative ideas and have developed a prototype and/or initial proof of concept demonstrating feasibility. Innovation must benefit at least one, ideally two domains of the Innovation Focus Area without negatively impacting the others.
Growth Grants ($100,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that have demonstrated that their innovation is doable and have projected both economic feasibility at scale and high-impact potential to transform the food system. The innovation must benefit at least two, ideally three domains with no negative impact on the others.
Seeding The Future Grand Prizes ($250,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that have created innovations that are scalable, economically feasible at scale, trusted, and compelling to consumers, and have demonstrated major impact potential to transform the food system. The innovation must benefit at least two, ideally three domains with no negative impact on the others.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for an award, the project must be innovative, impactful and lead to new advances that benefit at least one but ideally more than one of the intersecting domains of the Innovation Focus Area, shown in the diagram, while not negatively affecting any of the other domains. Innovations that benefit two or more domains and are at an advanced development stage are eligible for the highest award levels. The definition of Innovation in the context of this challenge is: A novel idea, approach, concept or technology that is practicable and leads to a significant beneficial for people or the environment.
The following organizations are eligible to compete in the Challenge:
Non-profits located in any country
Academic or research institutions located in any country
Early-stage or emerging North American or European based for-profit companies (‘small companies’)
Individuals are not eligible to apply. Please note, however, that teams of students or researchers may participate as part of their University or Research Institution’s submission. Organizations are encouraged to form teams to compete in the Challenge. If two or more organizations form a team to compete, they should choose one of the organizations to serve as the applicant.
Documents to Verify Your Organizational Status and Financial Standing
North American or European based for-profit organizations must submit:
Most recent financial statement that includes a budget and revenue (including disclosure of current levels of investment and financial assets)
Articles of Incorporation or similar documents
Federal Tax ID Number (TIN) or tax status documentation
Certificate of good standing, indicating that the business is properly registered with the state or country
U.S. based non-profit organizations must submit:
Most recent financial statement (audited financials preferred but not required)
Most recent 990 -OR-
IRS letter of determination
Non-profit organizations based outside of the United States must submit:
Most recent financial statement (audited financials preferred but not required)
Documentation verifying that the applicant organization is currently registered as a non-profit organization (equivalent to a US 501(c)(3) public charity) in its country. Please note that IFT may follow up to request additional documentation to verify the applicant’s non-profit status.
What the Challenge Won’t Fund
Projects that have a negative effect on either the safety or healthfulness of food, the sustainability of the food supply chain or, that are unlikely to be accepted by the end-user or consumer
Theoretical concepts or ideas without any experiments or a reduction to practice
Individual persons
Projects where funds will be used to support large for-profit entities in their commercial activities such as R&D, Innovation, Manufacturing or Sales/Marketing
Initiatives which are not scalable beyond the initial project scope and have limited projected impact over time
Projects associated with political campaigns or lobbying
Capital campaigns
For profit entities with significant financial assets or which passed Series A financing round.
The Minor Foundation for Major Challenges (MFMC) is now inviting applications for its Small and Large Grants Program to support advocates of climate change mitigation.
MFMC is a Norwegian foundation that supports communication projects which advance the transition to a low carbon economy. The Foundation also supports projects that support urgent, large-scale transformation, with a focus on changing policies and practices in public or private institutions.
Priorities
The foundation’s priorities for 2019-2023 are to
encourage and support innovation in climate communication
increase the number of voices and narratives in climate advocacy
help strengthen social and political movements that open up for radical change
concentrate on supporting European proposals
Types of Grants
Large Grants: In this category, MFMC is looking for projects typically in the range of EUR 20,000 to EUR 200,000, although larger projects may be considered. The application process consists of two steps, where interested organizations are asked to initially submit a short pitch. Based on this, the organization may be invited to submit a full application if the MFMC board finds the project appealing.
Small Grants: In this category, it is possible to apply for smaller grants of up to EUR 10,000 in a simplified one-stage process. Applications will be assessed by the MFMC board based on its aims and strategy.
Eligibility Criteria
The Foundation supports advocates of climate change mitigation. The calls for applications are open to international applicants.
Broad spectrum, Melcom, Amas Farms, are among leading organizations supporting this year’s Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival, at the forecourt of the State House, on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
Other organizations also providing financial and technical support include Qualiplast, Chilli Belly, Boris B Chicken, Flour Mills, Maphilix Trust Ghana Limited, Fidelity Bank, ADDFRA, Dainess Chief School, Joerees Farms, and Agrogenics Ltd.
In a press statement, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, said the contributions of these organizations reinforce the importance of collaborations and further highlights the pivotal roles they play in the growth and success of Ghana’s poultry industry.
“The Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival, would not be possible without the support of these sponsors, and we are uttermost grateful for their support,” she said.
She said this year’s exciting full day event would not only highlight the immense potentials of Ghana’s poultry industry, but also provide a platform for industry networking and knowledge sharing among stakeholders.
While all sponsors have reiterated the need for intensive advocacy, platforms, interventions and events that highlight the contributions of poultry sector stakeholders to national growth and development, implementing partners like Ghana Egg Secretariat, Ghana Poultry Farmers Association, and National Farmers and Fishermen Awards Winners Association of Ghana, have joined Agrihouse Foundation to urge government to institutionalize July 1 as Ghana Poultry Day.
The official media partners for the Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival includes; Agric Today, Kantanka Tv, EIB Network, Angel FM and TV and Uniq Fm.
“We are grateful to all these organizations who are collaborating and supporting our cause because they believe in the vision. Their sponsorship demonstrates their dedication to fostering growth and excellence within the poultry sector,” Ms. Akosa said.
The Ghana poultry Day and 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 1, 2023, will be an unforgettable experience, displaying the achievements, challenges, and potential of Ghana’s poultry sector.
The poultry sector is indeed an essential part of the agriculture industry and in recognition of this all – important sector, Members of parliament, CEO of Various Companies, Tv and Radio personalities across the country will be cooking up a storm with their own chicken dishes as a way of raising awareness about the importance of our local poultry products.
Attendees can expect activity line-ups including exhibitions, enlightening panel discussions from various key stakeholders in the poultry sector, culinary, cultural festivities that celebrate the essence of Ghana’s rich poultry heritage, talk on Nutritional values of poultry and Egg dishes training.
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners have emphasised the need for the government and private sector to collaborate and invest in agribusiness in order to attract more youths into the sector.
This was the submission at the Agribusiness Investors Network organised by the Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) recently in Lagos. The event was put together by IITA in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and Ecobank.
In attendance were former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and representatives of African Development Bank, Lagos State government, among others.
Ken Dashiell, deputy director, general partnership for partnership and delivery, IITA, said it has become imperative for stakeholders to work together to empower the youth in transforming Nigeria’s food system.
Dashiell said the government and other developmental partners must begin to put the right policies and programmes in place to attract the youth into agriculture.
Former President Obasanjo, who is an ambassador of IITA, said that a concerted effort must be made to ensure that the funding gap in agribusiness is bridged, adding that financial institutions, investors and entrepreneurs must collaborate.
Obasanjo noted that the sector must be attractive for the youth, saying no serious entrepreneur would be interested in seeking a double-digit loan.
He explained that the agricultural sector had suffered for too long due to the lack of commitment to industry development and inadequate funding from the government as well as uncertainty from potential investors and other key stakeholders.
He stressed the need for government to invest heavily in the agricultural sector, noting that no nation has witnessed reasonable industrial development without paying adequate attention to agriculture.
Also speaking, Bolaji Lawal, managing director and regional executive of Ecobank Nigeria, stated the commitment of the bank to support any investment that will stimulate the growth of Nigeria’s economy and transform the opportunities in Nigeria into business and empowerment for the youth.
Areo Evelyn, the CEO of Farm2Fill Enterprises and beneficiary of the I-Youth project, stated that participating in IITA’s training programme impacted her entrepreneurial journey as she now offers a variety of agricultural produce to local and international markets.
Aline Mugisho, the executive manager, I-Youth Project, who spoke on ‘De-risking agro-industry investment,’ emphasised the need for stakeholders to work together to, demystify the agricultural sector’s myth around profitability, sustainability, and growth.
Mugisho said that youths were catalysts in agriculture technology and innovation scaling, and when empowered with skills and expertise, they become invaluable assets to companies.
Applications are now available for African Climate Innovation Challenge to empower young Africans to create impact in their local communities by solving sustainability challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation.
Applications are now available for African Climate Innovation Challenge to empower young Africans to create impact in their local communities by solving sustainability challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation.
The African Climate Innovation Challenge (ACIC) which is jointly developed and implemented by 3 E’s 4 Africa, Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) and StartUp Lounge Africa is a project which intends to focus on the innovative minds and projects of young Africans and encourage and empower them to create a local impact in their communities. It is an idea contest which challenges young Africans to come up with innovative, green ideas and helps them to develop them into real solutions. Young Africans apply with ideas for solving environmental problems with an entrepreneurial mindset.
The best 10 concepts are selected as the ACIC Cohort. They will go through an online curriculum, consisting of training and digital workshops, as well as P2P sessions between mentors and participants. This gives teams the opportunity to work on and develop their ideas further. Topics covered include environmental protection, climate change, social engagement, digital literacy, project management and business creation/management.
The top 5 projects will be invited to the African Climate Week in Nairobi as finalists where the pitch event will take place. After the pitch event, the jury will select the 3 winners. Each winner will receive a considerable prize money dedicated to support them in the direct implementation of their idea in the community.
Objectives
Empower youth and local communities in Africa by providing them not only with entrepreneurship skills, but also with the tools and knowledge they need to create local impact.
Help African communities build resilience and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change locally.
Addressing and solving sustainability-related challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa.
Benefits
Up to USD15,000 in prize money for the three winning teams to directly implement their innovative start-up ideas in their communities.
Tailor made curriculum as well as dedicated Peer-to-peer mentorship for all participants to further develop their start-up ideas.
3 months incubation for all 10 selected teams to move past the ideation stage and turn their ideas into reality.
Pitch your project during the African Climate Summit co-hosted by the Republic of Kenya and the African Union Commission (AUC) in Nairobi.
Eligibility Criteria
Before applying, make sure your team and yourself are willing and able to commit to the program of the ACIC
You should be a team of 2 – 6 people. Applications from teams with less than 2 people and more than 6 people will not be considered
Although not required, they specifically want to encourage female-led teams and teams with 40% – 50% female participants
All the members of your team must be of African descent and based in Africa
Existing and officially registered start-ups will not be considered
The idea you are applying with must be centered around climate change mitigation and/or climate change adaptation
All members of your team must be between 18 and 35 years old
All members of the team must have a good mastery of the English language.
Ghana’s agribusiness sector still faces significant challenges, according to Kwesi Korboe, the Chief Executive Officer of GIRSAL.
Contributing to a panel discussion on the Citi Business Festival on Tuesday, June 27, Mr Korboe said while progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to fully unlock the potential of agriculture in the country.
Mr Korboe emphasized that the agriculture sector in Ghana is in need of innovative solutions and increased investment to improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.
Access to modern farming techniques, advanced machinery, and quality inputs such as fertilizers and seeds is crucial for the growth of agribusiness in Ghana.
Another major challenge Mr Korboe highlighted is access to land for farming by the private sector. He added that insufficient road networks and limited access to markets make it difficult for people to invest in the agricultural sector.
Furthermore, Mr Korboe added that access to finance remains a significant hurdle for many small-scale farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs. Limited access to credit, high-interest rates restrict the ability of farmers to invest in their operations, expand their businesses, and adopt modern technologies.
Korboe also highlighted the need for effective policies and supportive government interventions to promote agribusiness development. This includes policies that prioritize agricultural research and development, provide incentives for private-sector investments, and create an enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in the sector.
Despite these challenges, Mr Korboe acknowledged the immense potential of Ghana’s agricultural sector.
The country, he said has favourable climatic conditions, fertile land, and a rich biodiversity that can support diverse agricultural activities. With the right investments, infrastructure development, and policy support, Ghana can harness its agricultural resources to drive economic growth, create employment opportunities, and ensure food security for its population.
Tuesday’s forum was under the theme ‘Understanding and leveraging Agribusiness Value Chain’.
The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr John Kwakye has said that the increasing cost of food in Ghana is due to the failure of agriculture policies.
He said managers of the economy should be held liable for the increasing cost of food.
“The exorbitant cost of local food is a sign of failure of agricultural policy. Our economic managers should be held accountable,” Dr Kwakye tweeted.
His comments come on the back of the marginal increment in the inflation rate which went up to 42.2% in May from 41.2 % recorded in April 2023 as food prices soared.
Annual price growth quickened to 42.2% from 41.2% in April.
Food inflation witnessed a sharp rise to 51.8% last month from 48.7% in April and non-food price growth decelerated to 34.6% from 35.4%.
Government Statistician Samuel Kobina Annim gave these updates in Kumasi on Wednesday, June 14
He indicated that prices rose 4.8% in the month with the Western North and Ashanti recording the highest and lowest inflation rates respectively.
Honey produced in Ghana has the greatest potential to boost the growth of the local economy, according to the District Chief Executive of Kadjebi, Mr Wilson Agbanyo.
He made the comments during a special launch of the Community Apiaries project under the theme; ‘Make Ghana honey fit for export’, held in Pampawie in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region.
Mr Wilson noted that apart from the huge nutritional value of honey, it could generate a lot of foreign exchange for the country if the international standard of its production is followed.
The event organized under the auspices of Volta Region Association of Beekeepers with support from Quality Services International GMbH, Germany(QSI) was aimed at making honey produced in Ghana fit for premium grade assurance for both local use and export.
He noted that there are other enormous benefits derived from honey in drugs production in the pharmaceutical industry.
Mr Wilson, however, appealed to the young ones especially the unemployed to develop a keen interest in the bee-keeping business and take advantage of any future opportunity to get enrolled in the business.
He also urged the traditional authorities to release farm lands to facilitate and promote the bee- keeping business.
Chief Executive of the Volta Region Association of Beekeepers (VoRAB), Mr. Devine Oquaye Odonkor, noted that there have been plans to have the bee-keeping business domesticated, confined and controlled as Ghana’s policy agenda since the 1960s.
With this concept of ‘Make Ghana honey fit for export’ project, there would be vigilance at community level on production and processing to ensure that no contaminated or intentionally adulterated honey finds its way out of the communities onto our local and international markets,” Mr Divine Oquaye Odonkor said.
He noted that bee-keepers work under numerous challenges to ensure that there is quality and sufficient honey at all times.
He noted that the quest is to have as many as possible self-motivated and dedicated entrepreneurs in the bee-keeping value chain to produce quality honey in the country that would meet international standard.
The government therefore was committed to collaborate with the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP) through the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) of the Assembly to train and support interested youth with start-up kits to engage in bee-keeping in the District.
Nana Gyataba Atiemo Darko, Tufuhene of Amanta State and Okrakrom chief who chaired the function thanked the organizers for launching the programme at Pampawie assuring them of their full support in making bee-keeping in the area very lucrative.
Manager of the Volta Regional Forestry Commission, Torde Gershom Amaglo, called on the youth to eschew their mindset that that the bee-keeping business is not lucrative, adding that if they adhere to the standards they can make a lot of money.
In his remarks, Mr Arne Dubecke, Head of Project, Quality Services International GmbH, Germany, assured that he would continue to partner VoRAB and other stakeholders in making sure that honey produced in Ghana meets international standard.
Jihadis operating in the West African sub-region are now resorting to crossing over into Ghana with looted animals for sale.
According to officials in the West African nation, owners of these stolen animals oftentimes trace their cattle to local markets in the north of the country.
One of the popular destinations for the animals is the cattle market in Navrongo, near Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso.
“Some of the cattle here are rustled and brought to the market for sale, but we won’t know,” Kwesi Adumbila, a well-known cattle dealer in the market, told DW.
“Others even cross the borders with the cattle to sell in Ghana. Those who cross the borders have their agents, who they meet in the bush for exchange.”
The number of market destinations for these stolen cattle are fast increasing, according to Rev. Fr. Clement Aapengnuo, who works with COGINTA, an EU-supported community peace building NGO.
“When you look at the cattle markets that are coming up especially near border towns — I hear a market has just come up in Banda Nkwanta,” Aapengnuo told DW, referring to a town in the center of Ghana.
The rustled cattle attract buyers because of their low sale prices at the markets, according to Aapengnou.
“So, you go there, there are a lot of cattle that they are selling, and people are enjoying, they think this is cheap cattle we can buy and do ABCD, but they don’t realize that by buying those cattle they are financing terrorism,” he said.
Withdrawal zone for armed groups
A study by Promediation, a French NGO of mediation and negotiation experts, concluded that Ghana’s proximity to the Cascades region of neighboring Burkina Faso, as well as Ivory Coast, makes northern Ghana an ideal cross-border withdrawal and control zone for armed groups.
Some of them run into Ghana for refuge, but their activities are mostly linked to arms, drugs, consumer products and cattle rustling.
They use the money to buy small arms to restock and then to go back to fight,” Aapengnuo said. “So, this also feeds into the idea that one of the reasons why Ghana has not been attacked is that Ghana is a refuge for the terrorists.”
“The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized crime in its recent report on cattle rustling and Mali’s war economy revealed that even looted cattle from Mali are reaching markets in Ghana and other West African nations.
“Cattle rustling cannot be dissociated from instability and conflict dynamics. In fact, it is a strong predicator of instability, as it marks the escalation of conflict and highlights strategies of armed groups and their levels of influence or control over specific areas,” the report said.
It added, “as armed groups move towards new territories further south, and towards coastal West African countries, cattle rustling could be a marker of future conflict areas as well as of locations where armed groups need resources.”
Tightening border security
Ghana’s security forces have moved in to tackle the issue by setting up camps in areas close to its northern borders with Burkina Faso, Togo and Ivory Coast.
They want to control a possible spillover of terrorism, but it is hard to control illicit movement of animals into Ghana due to porous border controls.
Awal Ahmed Kariam, a security analyst whose organization RISE Ghana has been advocating for border security over the years, told DW that the accommodative posture of some Ghanaians is allowing crime to foster and gain grounds.
“We have a culture of highly accommodative nature of our people,” he said.
“So, we have people coming from different jurisdictions, we basically do not question them. Some of these people may be violent extremists; however, they are also locals who engage in cattle rustling.”
The Global Initiative has recommended that cattle rustling assessments should be “used in early-warning stabilization operations, as is the case with other types of organized crime.”
