The fourth and last forum of the 2023 edition of the Citi Business Festival forum focused on the agriculture value chain.
The forum aimed to explore the theme “Understanding and Leveraging Agribusiness Value Chains” and how the sector’s advantages can be tapped.
Distinguished speakers participated in the event, sharing their insights on the topic. Kwasi Korboe, the CEO of GIRSAL; Professor Roger Kanton, a former Research Scientist with the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI); and founder of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Akosah presented their perspectives on assessing the state of the agricultural sector in Ghana and delved into the opportunities within the Agribusiness Value Chain, emphasising strategies to capitalise on them.
The panelists took turns presenting different perspectives on Ghana’s agricultural potential.
Kwasi Korbo believes that policy direction to make agriculture more pragmatic must be mainly pushed by the private sector.
Prof. Roger Kanton cited seed provision, mechanization, and transportation as critical areas for the sector’s revitalization.
1. Agric must now be private sector driven but with government support
2. Seeds, mechanization, and transportation key priorities for agriculture
3. Going for rice import substitution to bolster industrialization
4. Focusing on commercial oil palm production becoming
5. Creative and innovative farming now an emerging agric niche
6. Clear national policy direction required to revamp agric production
7. Limited credit access, high interest rates, poor roads, and land challenges major hurdles to agribusiness
8. Poor government policies, party manifestos bane of agric development
The Citi Business Festival 2023 is powered by Citi TV and Citi FM in partnership with Absa and is proudly sponsored by MTN MOMO, MTN Business and Zeepay with support from GIRSAL.