The Women in Agribusiness Week Celebration (WAW), organised by Guzakuza, was climaxed last Saturday at the Omanye Aba Hall, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Accra 2023. The week-long celebration, spanning from November 13th to November 18th, 2023, aimed to empower and appreciate women in agribusiness for their significant contributions to the growth of the sector.
The celebration traversed multiple locations, starting from Tamale to Kumasi and finally ending in Accra. As part of the celebration, key activities included an exhibition for agribusinesses, a graduation ceremony, and a panel discussion on the topic “Unlocking finance in agribusiness”. The panellists were the Head of Commercial and Partnerships for Farmer Line, Princess Anita Asabere; the Head of Logistics and Supply Chain at New Age, Eric Narter; and a representative from GIRSAL, Mrs. Elorm Addae.
In discussing agricultural funding challenges, Eric Narter emphasised the effectiveness of crowdfunding as compared to funding from financial institutions due to the difficulties associated with meeting their financial requirements.
He shared his experience of seeking support from family and friends, referring to them as “sponsors,” to fund his farm projects. “So what we do is that we start projects with a sum taken from family and friends, and we produce enough to pay back the capital and even add some interest”. He further added that, unlike banks, which have a time limit to pay bank loans, family members do not exert too much pressure on the bank to pay back what was borrowed.
Mrs. Addae echoed the sentiment, saying that crowdfunding also works very well, as banking institutions are not always keen on providing loans to farmers and agribusiness owners. She further explained that the reluctance is a result of several issues associated with the repayment of the loans. “GIRSAL once stood in for an agribusiness organisation to earn a loan from a financial institution but never paid it back”. She added.
According to her, ”GIRSAL plays the role of a guarantor for banking institutions to receive funding from the Bank of Ghana or other institutions and lend to agribusinesses in return.
Upon being asked how farmers in rural areas can get access to these organisations for help in terms of funding and information, Princess Anita of Farmer Line answered by saying, “That is why Farmer Line is here; we have representatives in all 16 regions in the country, and we provide information to farmers through the landline 399. By dialling this number on your phone, farmers are connected to representatives and provided with any information they may need”. She further added that Farmer Line has partnered with institutions like GIRSAL and other international organisations such as MasterCard Foundation, among others, to provide input and advocacy for farmers across Africa and contribute to the development of the sector.
Guzakuza, the non-governmental organisation responsible for the Women in Agribusiness Week celebration, also has initiatives such as Ignite, Farms, and MentorHer, among others, that are tailored specifically to empower women in agriculture to build resilient businesses.
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