The Chief of Party of United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Madam Carianne de Boer, has urged Agrihouse Foundation to engage animal farmers and processors who will be participating in the upcoming 3rd ‘Livestock, Poultry, Fisheries Training Tradeshow,’ (LiPF) on issues surrounding the African Continental Free Trade agreement.
She said such discussions will educate and inform small-scale and commercial agricultural ventures, producers and customers of animal agriculture, on how to better position themselves to take full advantage of opportunities the agreement has to offer.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area is here now. It is good news, but serious questions arise for our sector as agricultural stakeholders. Potential gains from this trade agreement will nor necessarily affect all countries and sectors in the same way,” she stressed.
Madam Carianne de Boer made these comments yesterday in her keynote address, at the launching of the 3rd Livestock, Poultry, Fisheries Training Tradeshow, organized by Agrihouse Foundation, at Nungua Farms, on the theme, “WE MOVE! W)N YAA.”
The main event would be a two-day training and exhibition tradeshow, slated for Friday, May 21 – Saturday, May 22, in partnership with the United State Department of Agriculture (UNDA) – Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winner’s Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG).
Touching on the theme for the Tradeshow, she said it ignites hopes and captures the aspirations of the agri-youth, men and women.
She said, even though it has been a tiresome year in 2020, everybody is reaching out for hope and looking forwards to better living conditions, as economies open up again and new opportunities emerge.
According to Madam De Boer, the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries industry, undoubtedly, can play a key role in preventing people from falling into poverty, and therefore deserved the needed attention to thrive.
“Farmers alone must not be left alone to face the challenges of the industry. When we move, we move together— policy makers, financial institutions, investors, and even consumers. We all must play a part in developing a sustainable animal agricultural sector,” she stressed.
She said, GPP, though its activities across the country, has come across inspiring stories of how poultry has moved women from unemployment to owning their own ventures, and are now doing well for themselves.
“But these have not been achieved independently. They had to overcome new sets of interconnected value chain challenges at every stage of the growth of their business,” she noted.
She therefore used the occasion to commend Agrihouse Foundation for successfully sustaining LiPF, now in its third year, as an interventional platform that continues to bring together small-scale animal farmers, processors and all others within the value chain, and providing them with education, training and platforms to exhibit their products and services.
Madem De Boer noted that, even though livestock products are important for human nutrition and wellness, animals and their products also pose risks to human health. That is why there is a need for collaborative efforts among the sectors, to harness potentials for larger economic gains.
