AFC supports Ghanaian MSMEs in the agribusiness

After a decade of continuous engagement, a new chapter of AFC’s support to the Ghanaian agricultural sector has begun, with the recent start of our activities for the GIZ project “Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz)”, which will run until 2024.

The project aims at improving the competitiveness in domestic, regional and international markets of approximately 500 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana’s informal and formal agribusiness sector. Special attention is given to MSMEs headed by women and youth to increase their profits and to create around 1,000 full time jobs. In an integrated approach, the project strengthens technical and management capacities, focusing on processing, trading and marketing MSMEs. One of the key instruments is the GIZdeveloped SME Business Training & Coaching Loop, which combines training with coaching activities tailored to the specific needs of participating businesses.

Five business development service providers have been capacitated to implement the 6-months cycle trainings, based on experiential learning and individual coaching sessions. The first loop reaches out to 148 MSMEs. Other locally created approaches to improve business skills through training and mentoring are also supported, specifically for femaleled MSMEs. The MSMEs come from various sub-sectors along the value chain such as agricultural input supply and service provision for mechanisation, food processing and aggregation.

Another focus of the project is the facilitation of contract farming arrangements between farmer-based organisations and medium-sized enterprises. In close collaboration with the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry, the project will build up a pool of contract farming experts. In order to ensure reliable supply for agribusinesses all over the country, the experts act as facilitators to improve business relationships between the two parties.

While related activities are being implemented nationwide, another component of the project simultaneously supports a more sustainable approach of market-oriented agricultural production in selected value chains in North-Western Ghana under an EU co-financing mechanism. Here, climate-sensitive agriculture is promoted and the capacity of small-scale producers is strengthened to effectively supply raw materials to agribusiness MSMEs focusing on groundnut, vegetables, rice, mango, soybean, sorghum and cashew. Around 35,000 farmers benefit from good agricultural practices, which also address climate resilience such as planting density and crop rotation, conservation agriculture, soil and water management as well as integrated pest management among others. In order to improve the availability of quality advisory and mechanisation services, the project supports service and business development of the social enterprise TECAS promoting conservation agriculture in North-Western Ghana.

In parallel, the capacity of processors and aggregators is strengthened to provide (embedded) services to some 8,000 outgrowers, such as input credit, agricultural extension or mechanisation. Other beneficiaries of organisational development are input dealers and their associations, farmer organisations, value-chain committees, and farmer-based village savings and lending associations.

Drying of citrus peel for further use in the beverage industry.

For further information, please contact:

Christoph Pannhausen Overall Team Leader in Accra christoph.pannhausen@afci.de

Dr. Andrew Harberd Team Leader of activities in Ghana North-West andrew.harberd@afci.de