The Deputy Minister in charge of crops at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, has called on investors to invest in Ghana’s agribusiness sector by focusing on food processing and agriculture mechanization initiatives.
According to him, Ghana is a strategic hub for agribusiness investments due to its conducive and friendly business environment, peace, international relations, reputation and a thriving agriculture community.
He said this during the launch of the ongoing third edition of the Agritech West Africa Exhibition hosted at the Accra International Conference Centre which started yesterday, 19th March and expected to be climaxed on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
The exhibition has garnered significant attention and support, and is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and with the backing of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Over 100 companies from countries such as India, South Africa, Turkey, Nigeria, Ghana, UK, Italy, France, and Spain are participating and showcasing their latest innovations and technologies in agriculture.
The Deputy Minister, said, “When you invest in Ghana, your investment is safe due to the laws of Ghana which protect individuals’ investments and incomes. Once you are law-abiding, this is the place to be. That is why I see a lot of international companies and investors setting up their businesses in the country despite all the challenges we are facing here.”
He further stated, “The Return on Investment is high when one invests in Ghana, and there are limited restrictions in taking your investment profit back to the country the business comes from.”
This, he said, is a motivation for a lot of companies to make Ghana their first country within the African continent to invest in.
In addition, the Deputy Minister elaborated on the mandate of the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Policy in supporting Small and Medium Enterprises in food processing.
According to him, the second phase of the policy enables farmers and food processors to get access to ready markets, aggregators and good warehouse facilities.
He however indicated that the government is working steadily to reduce post-harvest losses and increase the processing of crops to create a country of boundless opportunities.
Mr. Frimpong Addo urged the youth and farmers to keep up the good work and continue to enhance food security through mechanization and proper research.
Indian Ambassador to Ghana, Manish Gupta, speaking at the event mentioned how lucrative the agribusiness sector in Ghana is, provided the needed investments are increased.
He explained that Ghana’s economy is predominantly dependent on agriculture, where the sector contributes close to 20% of Ghana’s GDP whereas 60 percent of the population is employed across the agriculture value chain.
According to him, the Indian Government is dedicated to forging partnerships with Ghana to promote economic development through agribusiness.
He lauded the efforts of government, farmers and stakeholders across the agriculture value for enhancing food security.
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