Ghana’s indigenous agribusiness faces challenges impacting financial progress – Dr. Azinu
By D. I. Laary
Koforidua, Dec. 22, GNA – Dr. Amos Rutherford Azinu, Seed Business Executive on the Legacy Crop Improvement Centre (LCIC), has highlighted essential challenges going through Ghana’s agricultural sector that threaten financial progress.
He known as for a complete strategy to agribusiness transformation and the institution of large-scale indigenous agribusiness corporations to handle market gaps and enhance financial progress, thereby enhancing job creation within the agricultural sector.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr. Azinu emphasised the pressing want for the institution of large-scale indigenous agribusiness corporations to bridge present gaps out there.
“Ghana’s agricultural sector currently operates well below its potential, primarily due to its focus on raw material exports rather than processed products,” he mentioned.
Dr. Azinu warned that with out main indigenous processing corporations, priceless alternatives for agricultural worth addition slip away.
This impacts Ghana’s overseas change earnings and creates ongoing strain on the cedi’s stability.
Small agribusiness enterprises, he famous, regardless of their potential, wrestle to interrupt into bigger markets, discovering themselves unable to successfully take part in regional and world worth chains.
The lack of main agribusiness gamers has created a major void in Ghana’s employment panorama. Large agricultural corporations usually generate subtle job alternatives in rising fields like agricultural know-how, meals science, and company agricultural administration.
These companies additionally are likely to create in depth enterprise ecosystems, supporting quite a few smaller enterprises and repair suppliers all through their provide chains.
Dr. Azinu famous that the absence of such alternatives usually results in mind drain, as expert agricultural professionals search higher prospects in neighboring international locations with extra developed agribusiness sectors.
To fight these challenges, he has advocated for a complete strategy that focuses on a number of key areas that features modernizing rural street networks to boost agricultural logistics and creating complete storage services and chilly chain techniques.
He additionally urged the necessity for increasing irrigation infrastructure for year-round farming; structuring focused tax incentives for agricultural processing ventures; establishing clear, investor-friendly agricultural insurance policies and creating devoted agribusiness financial zones.
He additional advocated that the great strategy ought to focuses on launching an agricultural improvement fund; strengthening analysis establishments targeted on agriculture; and facilitating information switch via partnerships with profitable regional agribusinesses.
Additionally, it ought to give attention to supporting worldwide normal certification programmes; designing export promotion methods for processed agricultural merchandise; enhancing regional market integration efforts and offering low-interest funds for agribusiness enlargement.
Dr. Azinu expressed the idea that success in reworking Ghana’s agribusiness sector would require a coordinated effort amongst authorities our bodies and personal sector stakeholders.
“A robust monitoring and evaluation system is essential to track progress and enable timely adjustments to implementation strategies,” he said.
Adding, “The transformation of Ghana’s agricultural sector through these initiatives could foster the emergence of indigenous agribusiness companies capable of generating over $500 million in revenue within the next 5-7 years.”
“Such progress would represent a significant shift in Ghana’s economic landscape, creating substantial employment opportunities and driving sustainable economic growth.”
GNA
