Pre-harvest event to highlight Planting for Food and Jobs

The 8th Pre-harvest Exhibition and Conference, which is slated for the 3rd to 5th October, will feature workshops on ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’, the government’s flagship programme aimed at boosting agriculture; the role of the youth in agri-business; and using new technologies to improve agriculture output.

The Pre-harvest conference, an annual international event, brings together stakeholders from the agricultural industry, comprising both the public and private sectors to discuss policies affecting the sector, exhibit products, meet suppliers in the value chain and so on.

This year’s edition, which will be held at the Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale in the Northern Region, has been expanded into a three-day event. Thus there will be a separate workshop to discuss Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) with a presentation by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the PFJ’s Goals, Targets and progress to date.

The University of Development Studies (UDS) will also undertake an assessment of PFJ’s implementation, lessons learnt and the way forward. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic with discussants from MoFA, UDS, Yara Ghana, USAID ADVANCE and farmers.

Alberta Nana AkyeaAkosa, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation

Another theme during the event will be on ‘Youth in Agribusiness’ where some of Ghana’s development partners will have a roundtable on the importance of young people’s participation in agriculture, the largest employer in the country, as a way of reducing youth unemployment.

The advent of new technologies and its impact on farmers’ output will be discussed under the Agritech workshop and it will showcase Agric incubation, a soil testing van, Aflasafe and Ripping technologies.

Awards will also be presented on agric innovation to be undertaken by Kosmos.

Alberta Nana AkyeaAkosa, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, the organisers of the Pre-harvest confab said “the Pre-harvest event is one of the biggest platforms for the convergence of all stakeholders in the agriculture sector and therefore creates the biggest opportunity for business development among others.”

Over 2000 participants and exhibitors are expected to attend to interact, establish business relationships and discuss contracts as well as explore and exploit other growth opportunities in the sector.There will also be key activities such as training programmes, workshops, field demonstrations, exhibitions among others.

Aside showcasing the many activities and businesses in the various areas of the agriculture sector, such as seed production, fertilizer, finance, fisheries, storage, machinery, livestock, packaging & processing, ICT among others, participants will be taken through practical and engaging sessions at the conference to enable them gain deeper insights into best practices as well as on how to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities in the agric sector for growth.

The 8th Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference is being organised in partnerships with USAID-Advance, the World Food Programme, the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Sponsors include Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Kosmos Energy,Interplast Limited, Motor King,Hatoum Trading, LK International, Mel Consult, and Afgri John Deere