The much-anticipated visit to Ghana by Senator Ken Schilz and Senator Justin Wayne, former Nebraska State Senators, to continue ongoing works towards developing, strengthening, and building partnerships, especially to advance agribusiness trade and investment relations between the state of Nebraska and Ghana, is scheduled from Tuesday, July 29 to Sunday, August 3, 2025.
This forward-thinking business visit will build on a number of key and strategic match-making meetings, which have, over the past three (3) years, been successfully facilitated and held among Ghanaian and Nebraskan government officials and private businesses in both Ghana and Nebraska.
These efforts have been supported by the Nebraska Legislature, the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and facilitated by the Ghana-Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber.
The focus of this visit will center on meeting with both government and private sector leaders to discuss and build a partnership pathway in agribusiness education for undergraduate agribusiness students in Nebraska.
Beyond the focus on youth and agribusiness education, the former state senators will lead three stakeholder forums in Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast, all with a primary focus on what it takes to do business in America with Americans.
These sessions will target businesses within these regions that desire to explore, invest in, and do business with Americans, as the American business phase evolves.
The senators will also meet with senior public sector drivers and leaders, from the Presidency to Parliament and various Ministries, to explore state-to-state agribusiness partnerships.
Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation and Co-Founder of the Ghana-Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Relations Chamber, emphasized the strategic importance of the visit:
“When Senator Ken Schilz and I co-founded the Ghana-Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber four years ago, our collective desire and commitment was to ensure we are able to contribute to the strengthening of the agribusiness infrastructure between our two regions.
We are impressed with some of the sound achievements and solid groundwork that is ongoing in the areas of education, exports and imports of hot and trendy products, business-to-business partnerships, agricultural infrastructure development, farm establishment, agribusiness advisory work among many others.
So many works are in the pipeline, and we are excited about the new spirit of agribusiness relationships and partnerships that we are building between Ghana and America through the State of Nebraska.
“This visit, which precedes a scheduled visit by Ghanaian businesses to Nebraska in September, is equally aimed at reaching out to new Ghanaian entrepreneurs and agribusinesses to further understand their operations and how mutually beneficial business relationships can be built and strengthened.
We believe this visit will go further to open new markets, encourage technology adoption in agriculture, enhance investment flows, and foster partnerships that create real impact at the community level.
It is a mission grounded in trust, shared values, and a long-term vision for inclusive growth.”
We have also been exploring opportunities in areas such as skills development, youth and women empowerment, and joint research work. There are also prospects of establishing a Ghana value-added or agro-processed shop in Nebraska, joint commercial farms in Ghana, among other agribusiness marketing projects.
Adding his voice, Former Senator Ken Schilz, Co-Founder of the Chamber and leader of the delegation, also shared his perspective on the significance of the visit:
“Ghana is a vital partner in our international engagement efforts. With its strategic, sound business environment, passion to grow the agribusiness sector, youth focus, peace, dynamic economy, and resourceful population, we remain confident in the growth of ongoing business partnerships and new leads for collaboration.
The State of Nebraska carries on its shoulders strong experience in value chain development, irrigation systems, livestock production, and agricultural mechanization.
This visit is about identifying shared challenges, exchanging ideas, and creating scalable solutions that benefit communities both in Ghana and Nebraska.
Visiting Ghana is always refreshing, and we are looking forward to building more partnerships, exchanging knowledge, while offering advice and solutions that can work for both Ghana and the United States of America. “He concluded
ABOUT THE GHANA-NEBRASKA AGRIBUSINESS GROWTH AND TRADE RELATIONS CHAMBER (GNEBCHAM)
The Ghana Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber was established through the vision and collaboration of key individuals from Ghana and Nebraska, with Senator Ken Schilz, a former Nebraska State Senator, playing a pivotal role.
The journey began in 2012 when Senator Schilz first learned about Ghana. Over the years, he fostered a connection with the country by hosting groups and individuals from Ghana, which helped to deepen the relationship between the two regions.
In 2022, this connection led to Senator Schilz’s first visit to Ghana. During this trip, he met Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the founder of Agrihouse Foundation.
They had discussions and discovered a shared passion for agriculture and a common goal of creating value for crops and livestock in Ghana. Their conversations focused on the potential for collaboration between Ghana and Nebraska, exploring ways to bring agricultural opportunities from Ghana to the United States and vice versa.
The idea of forming a formal organization to facilitate this collaboration gained momentum in 2023 at the Husker Harvest Days event in Nebraska, where over 20 delegates from Ghana were able to experience Nebraska’s agricultural advancements.
This event became the catalyst for the concept of creating the Ghana Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber, an organization dedicated to connecting agricultural interests between Ghana and Nebraska and fostering solutions to common challenges.
The Ghana-Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations (GNEBCham) is the International representative arm of selected Nebraska Senators, Farmers, Agribusinesses and subsidiaries voluntarily working together with their Ghanaian partners to create an environment where Agribusiness and Trade can thrive between Ghanaians and Nebraskans and beyond.
