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The launch, which took place last week Wednesday in Accra, was attended by organizing partners, collaborating institutions and sponsors, of this year’s event. They included YARA Ghana, Agricultural Development Bank, Ecobank, Farmer Based organizations, and the Assistant Farm Manager of Bamvim Farms.
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, in a presentation, gave an overview of the theme, expectations and outcome of the 3-day event, which is scheduled to take place in Tamale, at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, from Tuesday, 19 October, to Thursday 21 October.She said the event would also make room, for a farmer-buyer platform, where farmers with various commodities, including Maize, rice, milliet, sorghum, soyabeans, cowpea, cashew, shea, etc, would meet, negotiate and sign supply deals with buyers.
Another key highlight of the 3-day event will be the Field demonstrations, where farmers and actors get to practically learn, appreciate and adopt best practices in Farm Management. This will take place at the Agrihouse Foundation AGRI-VILLAGE, a Ten (10) acre land, donated by the Bamvim Lana (Chief of Bamvim). It is expected that, Companies leading various Training sessions, will setup mini-demonstration fields for a more engaging practical session.
This year Pre-harvest is being sponsored by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), YARA, Ecobank Ghana and United Fertilizer Company Limited (UFCL). Collaborating Institutions include the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC).For his part, the West African Regional Director for YARA, Mr. Danquah Addo-Yobo, reiterated YARA’s commitment to providing solution-oriented support that will continue to improve the livelihoods of farmers and other agric value chain actors, at this year’s 3-days Pre-harvest event.
As a lead sponsor for this year’s Agribusiness Exhibitions and Conference, he said, the event provides YARA an added opportunity to grow the knowledge of farmers in appropriate crop nutrition practices; an effort that aligns with the organization’s mission of feeding the world and protecting the planet. He said, YARA has been committed to the growth of Pre-harvest since its inception in 2010, and will continue to do so.
The Assistant Farm Manager of Bamvim Farms and son of the Chief of Bamvim, Mr. Haruna Mahama Abubakari-Sadiq, presented the official site plan of the 10-acre land donated to Agrihouse Foundation by the Chief of Bamvim Traditional Area, Bamvimlana Mahama Abdulai ll.He said the Chiefs and Traditional heads in the Northern region are happy to support Agrihouse Foundation because, over the years, they have been part of Pre-harvest, and have witnessed the success the event has brought in the northern region.
Presenting the document, he said Pre-harvest has over the years been the key event supporting the growth and development of agriculture in the northern parts of the country.
He therefore used the opportunity to call on Government, the private sector and donor agencies to support Agrihouse Foundation to develop the AGRIHOUSE AGRI-VILLAGE, which will be the first of its kind in the country.
The Value Chain Officer of Ecobank Ghana, Mr. Frederick Atakorah noted that the bank has over the years supported the Pre-harvest event with its technical and financial commitment, emphasizing that, this year would be no different, as Ecobank seeks to contribute to the continuous growth and stabilization of the agric value chain sector.An FBO leader and Aggregator from the North East, who was present at the launch, Mr. Benjamin Awuni, shared testimony of how in the past ten years, Pre-harvest has equipped and empowered farmers in the Northern region to scale-up their farming activities and agribusinesses.
He thanked Agrihouse Foundation and USAID ADVANCE for the support, and called on government and corporate Ghana to invest in organizations like Agrihouse and work closely with events like Pre-harvest Agrihouse Exhibitions and Conference.
