By D.I. Laary, GNA
Wa, March 20, GNA – The first ever Agribusiness Fair and Conference has been held in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, to boost agricultural investment and raise public awareness on a multimillion euro project launched in 2017.
The EUR 150 million (about GHC900.00 million) European Union Agriculture Funded Project covers the entire Upper West Region and three adjourning Districts of the Northern Region is targeted at transforming lives in rural farming communities and mitigating climate change impact.
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Gyiele Nurah, praised the EU for the project and efforts by Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP) and GIZ for organising the event.
It was aimed at helping the continuous support for promoting competitiveness in the agricultural value chain - processors, traders and service providers, to participate in national and international markets.
He said the theme: “Exploring agribusiness opportunities for investments in the Upper West Region” ought to provoke Ghanaians to reflect on how development actors, policy makers, private sector and civil society could combine efforts to increase investment in agriculture in the region.
The World Bank diagnostic study on the private sector in Ghana had identified agribusiness as one of the most promising economic sectors.
Dr Nurah said several government interventions were therefore being rolled out to stimulate investment in the agricultural sector and create sustainable and thriving agribusinesses.
The Malabo Declaration in 2014 on Accelerated African Agriculture and Transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods enjoins African countries to enhance investment in agriculture to end hunger by 2025.
The declaration binds countries to accelerate agriculture growth by doubling agricultural productivity levels and halving post-harvest losses, and poverty by 2025 through inclusive agriculture growth among others.
Dr Nurah said government had intensified investment in the agriculture sector since 2017 to promote productivity, create jobs and improve incomes through the introduction of Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.
The Agribusiness Conference provided a platform for development partners, Farmer-based organisation and cooperatives, agricultural experts, financing bodies and other stakeholders to deliberate on issues and network to promote agribusiness in the region.
The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, said the programme would help people with funds looking for a place to invest to find agriculture very profitable and less risky to invest.
He said farmers and farmer-based cooperatives in the region would be linked up to companies that market agricultural implements and technologies to increase production.
He told potential investors that the region was strategically located, sharing borders with neighbouring Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire and Mali and therefore had large market for businesses.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS