4th Livestock, Poultry & Fisheries Tradeshow Opens Tomorrow

The 4th edition of the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries Training Tradeshow (LiPF), annually organized by Agrihouse Foundation opens tomorrow at the Afua Sutherland Children’s Park, in Accra.

The two-day event is in partnership with the Israeli Trade and Economic Mission to Ghana and the Israeli Export Institute, on the theme, “Speed Up, Build it Now.”

Ahead of this year’s tradeshow, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa has noted that, with the increasing recognition of Ghana as a hub for trade and investment in the Sub Region, the Foundation is committed to pushing the animal agricultural sector as a key area for economic investment and technology.

In the past few years, more animal farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs in the country have begun expressing committed interests in modern technologies and ideas that can improve their efforts and increase productivity; especially, in the area of cattle production, for either meat or dairy, she said in a press statement.

The cattle population in Ghana as at 2014 was 1,657,000 with a population increase of 15.4% from 2009 – 2014. The average growth rate of cattle from 2009-2014 was 2.88%. The average herd and flock size in the traditional cattle farming is 15 cattle per farmer and the average daily milk yields is about 15kg per day.

According to the Ms. Akosa, Agrihouse’s partnership with the Israeli Trade and Economic Mission to Ghana and Israeli Export Institute is designed to galvanize some Ghanaian cattle farmers and agric entrepreneurs to participate in an Executive Breakfast Meeting with key stakeholder from Israel, to share learnings and showcase innovative solutions targeted at modernizing cattle farming in Ghana.

“Israeli companies have developed some of the world’s most innovative solutions to make cattle farming efficient and profitable. These companies are looking to introduce these technologies in Ghana as Ghana’s Cattle farming sector is a growing market, she said.

Scheduled to take place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, in Accra, as a side event of this year’s LiPF Tradeshow, the Executive Breakfast Meeting, will mainly include members of the Ghana National Association of Cattle farmers, academics, government officials and development organizations specific in the cattle farming space.

The invite only Breakfast Meeting would provide a highly engaging platform for knowledge and experience exchange on modern cattle farming, for enhanced productivity of farmers. The engagement will highlight key challenges related to cattle farming in Ghana; promote partnerships and leverage strengths among actors in the cattle-farming sector, as well as create opportunity for companies with innovative cattle farming technologies/solutions to expand their customer base and market their products.

Agrihouse Foundation’s LiPF Tradeshow serves as the perfect avenue to bring together these major players in the cattle farming space to enable them to engage and introduce these innovative solutions. Instituted three (3) years ago to propel growth and equal sharing of resources across the animal agriculture sector, the event has become an integral training, exhibitions, and knowledge sharing platform for livestock, poultry and fisheries farmers, as well as, processors and service providers, in Ghana and across the sub-region. Annually, LiPF Tradeshow brings together key actors in the livestock sector in Ghana, Ms. Akosa noted.

Annual Training & Exhibitions

The annual training sessions, including poultry, piggery, snail production, mushroom production, cattle rearing, small ruminants (sheep, goats, rabbit) rearing, will co-currently take place at the Afua Sutherland Children’s Park. The training sessions will offer in-depth understanding and appreciation of the animal agric sector, to enable trainees identify uncharted career paths within the value chain.

The trainings offer unique opportunities for Ghanaian graduates and the unemployed to equip themselves with introductory and intermediary knowledge required for animal farming. It creates opportunity for the trainee to form long-term networking relationships with seasoned value chain actors who can offer them professional advice and guidance as they establish their agribusinesses.

The annual exhibitions would also runs alongside the training sessions. In the past three years, over 40 companies have exhibited at the event. This year Glory Vel Farms, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Sayetech Company Limited, X-Grill Catering Services, Amiss Fingerlings Production & Farms, Joy Royal Star Ventures,
Addfra Limited, Cluster Farming, Romakie Ventures, among others have registered as exhibitors.

Past sponsors of the event include, the Agricultrual Development Bank, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Holland Akorkor, and Flourmill Ghana Limited. Collaborating institutions have included the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association (NFFAWAG), and the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI).