Sixty small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) have undergone training on the biofortified maize value chain to strengthen their agribusiness and financial management capacities.
The participants, drawn from the Northern Region, included seed producers, grain producers, agro-dealers, aggregators, processors and extension officers involved in the maize value chain.
The one-day training, held at Nyankpala near Tamale, focused on business planning, financial literacy, costing and pricing, bookkeeping, grain quality standards, post-harvest handling, aggregation, contract arrangements, market negotiation and access to finance.
It was organised by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI).
The training formed part of activities under the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) II Maize Compact Project, aimed at equipping SMEs with practical knowledge and skills to improve their businesses, strengthen market linkages and enhance access to finance.
Dr Francis Kusi, Director of CSIR-SARI, said the training was intended to strengthen the capacity of value chain actors while promoting stronger business relationships linking production to processing and profitable markets.
He said biofortified maize, particularly varieties rich in iron and zinc, presented an opportunity to address nutritional deficiencies while creating new business opportunities for farmers, processors and traders.
He urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired to improve their businesses, strengthen market linkages and create better opportunities for maize producers.
Dr Isaac Kodzo Amegbor, Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI and Project Coordinator, said the training formed part of a broader initiative to ensure that actors across the maize value chain acquired the knowledge needed to effectively handle and commercialise improved maize technologies.
He said CSIR-SARI had established about 38 demonstration plots across the country under the project to expose farmers to locally developed maize varieties and their benefits.
He said more than 8,000 farmers had so far benefited directly from various project activities, including training in seed production, innovation platforms and demonstration plots.
Dr Desmond Sunday Adogoba, Innovations Scaling Specialist at CSIR-SARI, said participants would receive support after the training to refine their business plans and connect them to available grant and funding opportunities.
“As a research institution, we also get access to a lot of information on grants that are available for these SMEs. Once they have their business plans well developed and those opportunities pop up, we quickly link those SMEs to them,” he said.
Miss Flavian Anyango, Project Assistant for Seed Systems at AATF, said the Foundation was working to scale up proven agricultural technologies to improve farmers’ productivity and livelihoods.
She said the TAAT Maize Compact, implemented by AATF in partnership with national agricultural research institutions, seed companies and farmer groups across 10 African countries, was promoting climate-resilient and high-yielding maize varieties.
She said although the project had traditionally focused on maize production, the training sought to address gaps further along the value chain by strengthening the capacity of agro-dealers, processors and grain aggregators.
Madam Mariam Yakubu, a processor who participated in the training, commended the organisers for creating the opportunity for SMEs in the maize value chain to acquire practical knowledge to improve their businesses.