Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa – General Manager,FAGRO
This year’s edition of the much-talked-about National Food and Agric Show – FAGRO 2016, one of the important activities in the agriculture sector has opened at the Trade Fair Site, Accra.
The show to be hosted under the theme: “Preparation, Knowledge and Training – Business” will be attended by two high-profile Diplomats whose countries have invested heavily in agriculture.
A news release issued in Accra and signed by Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, General Manager of the FAGRO Secretariat said the diplomats from Israel and the Netherlands are expected to join Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Agric, Dr. Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, to officially signal the commencement of the event this morning.
The release said each speaker is expected to press home FAGRO’s position that the only way Ghana can make the most of agriculture is for stakeholders to approach the sector with a business mindset so as to ensure total commitment to the country’s dream of becoming a food basket.”
“Agriculture is now a very rewarding business because technology has made it very attractive and the dividends are mind-blowing. This is the posture we at the FAGRO Secretariat want to see stakeholders assume after this event,” the release said.
“The three-day event which will serve as a confluence for everything agric will feature general exhibitions, business to business meetings and field demonstrations for participants. The National Food and Agric Show is considered the torchbearer event that signposts agric as Ghana’s answer to its development dilemma.”
According to the release, “Workshops, training programmes and farm tours will also be organized during this event. It’s our flagship program and it has set the benchmark for other programs to be rolled out every year by the Secretariat.”
“FAGRO 2016 will bring Agric-oriented companies – manufacturers, agri-input firms, financial institutions, packaging companies, processing companies, irrigation firms, Green housing companies, farmer-based organizations – and all directorates of the ministry of agriculture to the Trade Fair Centre to showcase their products, services and policies, while forging new business alliances, and networking with over 700 exhibitors.”
The release further said a boot camp on business plan writing for players in agribusiness will hold for the entire duration of FAGRO 2016 on the margins of the main event adding that “Trainees will be taken through the ingredients of a credit-attracting business plan to enable them access loans to expand their businesses. Participants will round off their training with a business plan writing contest after which the best two will be selected for financial support.”
The release also mentioned other guest speakers lined up for the Opening ceremony are; Prof. John Ofosu–Anim, Dean of the School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Ms Carla Denizard, West and Central African Regional Director, as well as the FAGRO Secretariat boss herself.