Agrihouse Foundation is set to hold the 12th edition of annual Pre-harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions in the Northern Region.
On the theme, “Connecting the unconnected: the farmer-the- buyer and the market.”
The three-day event is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, October 25 to Thursday, October 27, at the Aliu Mamaha Sports Stadium, in Tamale, whiles the practical training and demonstration sessions, take place at the Agrihouse Agri-Village Training, Apprenticeship and Demonstration Centre, in Bamvim.
Annually, the event brings together over three thousand maize, rice, soya bean, sorghum, cowpea, groundnut, cashew, vegetables, livestock farmers and value chain actors within the agricultural sector, to discuss the production demands, pricing, innovative approaches to boosting farm yields and introduce new Agric Technologies, for development and advancement.
It also directly allows, over 70 per cent of participants, take decisive and influential roles, in purchasing of products, inputs and equipment, through the exhibitions that run alongside, the three day event.
Speaking ahead of this year’s 12th edition, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa in an interview in Accra yesterday noted the platform had generated an estimated $5 billion of businesses for agribusinesses and value chain actors in the last eleven years.
She said, over three thousand participants were recorded last year; resulting in a fifteen percent increase in productivity among various farmer groups, and value chain actors who patronised the event.
Between 2017 to 2021, the four (4) key areas of the event; Exhibitions, Farmer-to-Buyer Matchmaking, Training and Capacity Building and Field Demonstrations, have seen about 25 to 75 per cent increase in growth and sales among equipment and machinery dealers, financial institutions, ICT and telecommunication companies, she added.
Farmer-based organisations have established relationships with aggregators, while agro-processors have purchased over 14,000 MT of soybean and 31,000 MT of maize from farmers.
“In 2019, we recorded 70 business deals during the Exhibitions, which resulted in about GHS32, 420, 745, worth of sales, among input dealers, machinery and equipment dealers,” she revealed.
This year, amidst the global challenges, the exhibitions are still expected to record a marginable increase. Last year recorded 118 exhibitors consisting of farmer groups, input, seed dealers, agric marketing experts, and financial institutions.
Others included aggregators, brand specialists, transporters, equipment and machinery companies, processing and packaging companies, development and donor partners, corporate institutions, civil society and government agencies.
The pre-harvest activity line-up, have also increased to include the farmer-to-farmer apprenticeship session, which is specifically designed as a Technical and practical, further learning opportunity; where experienced field representatives will run demonstrative training sessions for farmers, farmer groups, including PWDs and other women-led groups.
“Through this new module, we are anticipating that both local and commercial farmers will develop and strengthen their capacities, to practically embrace and manage machines, equipment and agri farm inputs that will enhance their productivity and market growth,” Ms Akosa said.
The West Africa Regional Director of Yara International, solutions, Mr Danquah Addo-Yobo said, Yara had rolled out a number of digital tools and innovative systems this year, which would be shared with participants as part of the training and capacity building sessions they will be leading.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
