Mastercard Foundation, IDH supports Amaati to create value addition, 22,000 jobs in fonio value chain

Mastercard Foundation and IDH have collaborated to provide critical support for Amaati Company Limited, a social enterprise plying its trade in the fonio value chain of the Northern Region.

Fonio, which contains rich grain nutrients and bears key cultural significance in Africa, also contains calcium, iron, and B vitamins.

Over the years, Amaati Company Limited has played a key role in reviving the indigenous fonio cultivation in Northern Ghana.

With assistance from Mastercard Foundation and IDH, the company is now estimated to be worth more than $200,000.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Amaati Company Limited, Salma Abdulai, said her outfit has since been able to expand its scope from some landowners to over 5,000 smallholder women farmers and 1,600 men farmers.

“The biggest impact created is the over 22,000 jobs that Amaati has created in the fonio value chain, and that alone can be valued over $200,000 in two years.

“We have moved from 10 landowners to 5,000 smallholder women farmers. But overall, we have about 1600 men farmers. Overall, we have 7800 smallholder farmers,” Abdulai revealed.

She emphasized that Amaati’s collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation and IDH has facilitated plowing services for smallholder farmers, seed provision, and post-harvest management tools like tarpaulins to ensure quality products.

According to her, this partnership has widened Amaati's appeal and reach with regards to smallholder farmers and its supplies over the past two years in the Northern Region, and other parts of the county.

“We’ve supported 4000 smallholder women farmers, and as a result, they have increased their yield by at least 10%, generating more income… And also, we have been able to link to markets, which is generating revenue for Amaati and making us a sustainable business,” she said.

Salma Abdulai furthered that her mission is to empower women to be financially independent to take care of their own needs, instead of depending on others.

Amaati is a triple-bottom-line business tackling food insecurity and poverty in the rural Savannah zone.

It is a registered social enterprise that pioneered the revival of Fonio in Northern Ghana after 10 decades of its extinction.

It works with farmers, particularly women, in producing and processing Fonio.

The enterprise was formed with the idea of creating sustainable livelihoods for women farmers whose lands are degraded due to excessive usage, and creating a land management system where the lands can be regenerated and used to grow Fonio and food crops.