Organisers of the National Food and Agric Exhibitions, FAGRO Exhibitions 2017, says all is set for the historic fair scheduled for September 26 through to September 30, 2017 at the Tamale Sports Stadium.
The five-day fair, which is activity-laden, underlined FAGRO’s commitment to making a compelling statement for a national focus on agriculture.
“This year is a positive one for FAGRO and agriculture in general, as government has towed the line with the planting for food and job agenda. We are convinced that the Agric sector deserves even more than the attention it is currently receiving,” Ms Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, General Manager of the FAGRO Secretariat, said.
She said FAGROs’ focus in the north this year is to implement the vision for the north as the nation’s bread basket.
Highlights of the activities for this year’s event include; a leadership summit for Women in Agriculture, an Agric College Dialogue, a seminar on how to structure strong farmers Cooperatives, Business Plan Writing Bootcamp for Agribusiness players and a forum to discuss the government one District one factory agenda.
Ms Akosa said the FAGRO Secretariat in partnership with Yara Ghana, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association, Dizengoff, John Deere, Africa Lead and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council would roll out these activities during the five-day fair, which is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the northern regional capital.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, the Northern Regional Minister, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, District Chief Executives ,Farmers, Agric input dealers, machinery companies, financial institutions and many others will grace the opening ceremony and the exhibition itself.
Highlights of activities include a Women in Agriculture seminar which would be held on the opening day to offer women in the sector the resources to enhance their knowledge as well as provide networking opportunities linking various partners in the agriculture value chain.
The seminar will be a focus on career opportunities for female producers in agriculture.
There will also be Agric College dialogue to offer colleges a platform to ventilate their challenges in the study of agriculture in their respective institutions.
The one-day event will feature mentorship modules where students will be paired with mentors to discuss ways to survive on the job market with an agricultural background. The college dialogue aims at redirecting students’ attention to making Agric a priority career choice.
Ms Akosa said the agribusiness training on business plan proposal writing, takes off the next day, as a practical training session for entrepreneurs, farmers and agribusiness persons on how to write credit-yielding business plans to bait investors and partners so as to boost their expansion plans.
“Workshops, training programs and farm tours will also be organized during this period… it’s our flagship program and has set the benchmark for other programs to be rolled out every year by the Secretariat”, Nana Akyaa Akosa said.
Considered the torchbearer event that signposts Agric as Ghana’s answer to its development dilemma, the Fagro exhibition will bring Agric-oriented companies, manufacturers, agro-input, financing companies, packaging companies, processing companies, irrigation, Green housing companies, farmer-based organizations, and all directorates of the ministry of agriculture to showcase their products and policies, forge new business contacts and network with over 1000 exhibitors during the five-day fair.
Ms Akosa said the conference on government’s one district one factory agenda will build on how feasible the government’s policy could be achieved within the shortest possible time and examine the opportunities within the districts and how ready these districts are to embrace the identified opportunities.
“The discussions will span across possible recommendations from industry experts and how best government can deliver on this agenda,” she said.
FAGRO 2017 is supported by Yara Ghana, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dziengoff Ghana Limited, AFGRI Equipment Ghana, Ministry of Food and Agriculture,Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd, The National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association, Ghana (NFFAWAG) and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).
