Ghanaians interested in going into farming and agribusiness have been encouraged to have a clear idea of the market they want to produce for, before they commence production.
The comments follow the heightened interest in Agribusiness in recent weeks, as a result of Citi FM’s Operation Feed Yourself project, which seeks to encourage Ghanaians to engage in farming on a subsistence basis or as a business.
Speaking at the Operation Feed Yourself Agribusiness Forum held over the weekend in Accra, the Head of Animal Research Institute at the CSIR, Professor Edmund Sottie, said the importance of identifying one’s market cannot be underestimated.
“The issue like I always say has to do with the marketing side of things. You can be motivated to venture into agribusiness, which is a great thing, but before you get into it; look at the marketing side of things. We all need the meat for consumption, but if you are thinking of going into agribusiness seriously, then you have to look at the marketing side of things.”
While reiterating the importance of securing a market before venturing into any agribusiness at all, the 2009 National Best Farmer, Davies Narh Korboe, advised individuals not to focus solely on the farming aspect of agribusiness, but consider venturing into other aspects of the value chain like processing and retailing among others.
“Not all of us can go into farming, that’s why I keep talking about the value chain which is so tall such that it will be counterproductive for everyone to focus too much on going into the production side of the value chain. You could decide on which part of the value chain you want to belong to.”
The Agribusiness Forum
The event, which was highly patronized, was organized at the Swiss Spirit Suit Alisa Hotel in Accra on December 7, a day after Ghana observed the annual Farmers’ Day event to acknowledge the contribution of its active farming population to the country’s economic growth.
Delivering his presentation at the forum, the Head of Animal Research Institute at the CSIR, Professor Edmund Sottie, advised the participants to venture into the low hanging fruits in agriculture such as livestock and poultry rearing, since there are new methods of keeping farm animals even at home to get the best value without creating a nuisance in the communities.
Speaking on the theme ‘Understanding Large Scale Farming, a farmer with over two decades of experience, who’s also the 2009 National Best Farmer, Davies Narh Korboe, cautioned participants who want to go into in agriculture for exports to always consider the variety of their produce which are accepted in order to avoid situations where farm produce will be rejected for not meeting international standards leading to losses.
On his part, the author of a book on agriculture, titled ‘More Profitable than Gold, Samuel Amartey, argued that farming is the best way to make fortunes if the right methods are followed.
Touching on how to equip human resource in agriculture to get the best results, the 2018 National Best Farmer and former Managing Director of Cadbury Ghana, James Boateng, advised commercial farmers to treat their workers as professionals.
The CEO of Citi FM and Citi TV, Samuel Attah-Mensah, who initiated the Operation Feed Yourself Project as part of Citi FM’s 15th anniversary celebration, agreed to a suggestion from some participants for an opportunity to visit the farms of the resource persons who made their presentations.
Some participants lauded Citi FM for organizing the agribusiness event, as it provided insight on the potential business opportunities within the agricultural value chain.
The one-day event assembled some of the best brains with experience in agribusiness to showcase to participants, most of whom had no prior experience and limited knowledge in commercial farming, factors to consider in starting up a farming business and scaling up.
“I have always had a little interest in agribusiness and I wanted to see if I could start something with it. The event has been very helpful. It has given me insight into what I could possibly do and what next steps I could take to join the industry,” Hubert Quaye, financial accountant, told Citi Business News at the end of the event.
As part of the project, participants have an opportunity to be trained at their own cost in various sub-sectors of agriculture to equip them to venture into any agribusiness of their choice.
Some notable organizations that participated included the Ghana COCOBOD, the Ghana Commodity Exchange, and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.
The event was sponsored by Glofert, a leading fertilizer producer in Ghana.