Two Canadian farmers embark on nationwide agro-tourism in Ghana

The longstanding and historically significant bilateral ties between Ghana and Canada are poised for a revitalized chapter as agri-tourism takes centre stage, serving as the focal point and catalyst for this deepened connection between the two countries.

Facilitated by Ghanaian-owned Travel and Tour company, Voazok Tours, the evolving landscape of Ghana-Canada relations witnessed the participation of Canadian and Ghanaian agro-investors, commercial-scale farmers, and agriculture enthusiasts to share agricultural ideas and ways to improve agriculture as a business.

They embarked on a journey to explore prominent farms and plantations in Ghana, coupled with visits to some of the nation's most renowned tourism destinations.

The pilot Ghana Ag Tour occurred from November 13 -27, 2023, with a team of two Canadian producers, two Ghanaian farmers, and two officials from Voazok Tours traversing the country to abreast themselves with Ghana’s agriculture landscape and enjoying some relaxing and informative moments at some of the country’s most popular tourist sites.

The 14-day event saw the Canadian grain producers, Keith Fournier and Elaine Knowlson, hold important engagements with Ghanaian farmers, agriculture organizations, and other key stakeholders in the agriculture fraternity.

Following the arrival of Keith Fournier and Elaine Knowlson on November 13 at the Kotoka International Airport, the tour kicked off on November 14 with Derrick Owusu-Kodua, CEO of Voazok Tours, and Benjamin Nyarko, Agritourism Manager leading them to visit the newly-refurbished Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and the Black Stars Square, which holds a significant place in Ghana’s history.

The fourth day program saw the team holding important meetings with officials of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority and the Social Enterprise Ghana where discussions were had on a canola pilot project in the country. There were also engagements with the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research - Food Research Institute with value addition being at the heart of the discussion. A busy day of meetings concluded with a tour of University of Ghana Medical Hospital and University of Ghana campus.

The Eastern Region was the location for the 5th day of the program with the Aburi Botanical Gardens, which is home to different types of tree species as well as the site where Queen Elizabeth II first had a meeting with the first President of Ghana being the first point of visit. To understand the Ghanaian farming situation and have first-hand experience and information about activities in the country, the team also interacted with several peasant farmers growing mixed crops. The historic Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm was a point of visit as the team received knowledge on how Tetteh Quarshie was a pre-independence Ghanaian agriculturalist who was directly responsible for the introduction of cocoa crops to Ghana. Cocoa crops today constitute one of the major export crops of the Ghanaian economy. They continued to Legacy Crop Improvement Center to learn and exchange knowledge on seed production.

The sixth day of the program was still in the Eastern Region where the team spent full day at a farm, enjoying indigenous and unique Ghanaian dishes and drinks and playing some Ghanaian games, including the ‘famous oware and dame.’

The three-day stay and tour of the Eastern region concluded with a trip to a cassava processesing centre and GADCO rice milling plant, where the team tour commercial rice fields and engaged with some grain farmers. The team spent the night at the famous Aqua Safari Resort & wandered through Treasure Island surrounded by farm villages before returning to Accra.

From the Greater Accra Region, the team headed southwards into the Central Region, with a stop at Akwaaba Feeds Ltd and continued to Ghana's most renowned tourism destination. The team went through Gomoa Fete to Winneba to Apam where a stop was made at the St. Elizabeth Fort.

The Kakum National Park, the nation’s biggest forest and natural habitat had the presence of the team who also toured the Cape Coast slave castle built on the Gold Coast of West Africa by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese feitoria or trading post, established in 1555. In the morning after breakfast, the team paid a visit to B-Bovid Oil Palm Plantation and Processing Centre and Domati Farms to interact with the producers and engaged in the exchange of ideas.



Nzulezu, a unique village situated on a river in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, and its way of life were toured by the team who were awed by the sheer ingenuity and innovative prowess of the locals who are predominantly farmers.

Day 15

On the 15th of the exhaustive and comprehensive tour, the team went to His Majesty Place Farms to glean lessons from the place and also embarked on Agritourism as well as rubber plantations where they shared ideas and knowledge with the farmers.

Day 16

Having returned to Accra, the team met with Prof. George Oduro Nkansah from the University of Ghana to discuss more about the agriculture sector in Ghana and explored ways of exchanging knowledge and resources between Ghana and Canada, and how it can help promote global food security.



Impressions

Overall, the two Canadian farmers were heavily impressed by the trip organized by 7Continents Consulting (Saskatchewan) which partnered with Voazok Tours (Ghana). They expressed their excitement and described the exchanged knowledge with other farmers as very enlightening with the promise of supporting their activities and helping them expand through the continuous exchange of knowledge and provision expertise. The technical ag tour component also enhanced the knowledge of the Canadian producers on commodities such as grains and palm plantation.