Dr Farbod Youssefi, who co-leads the EBA, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the launch, explained that the report sought to provide evidence and informed understanding of the agribusiness environment in order to help governments establish appropriate regulatory systems which are efficient and ensure the safety and quality of agricultural goods and services.

He said creating an enabling environment for agriculture was a prerequisite to unleash the sector’s potential to boost growth, reduce poverty and inequality, provide jobs and boost food security.

He was of the view that government policies and regulations played a key role in shaping the business environment for agriculture, affecting costs, risks and barriers to competition for various players in the value chains.

Touching on the country’s performance across the eight topics, Dr Youssefi indicated that Ghana’s seed score was ranked 48 among the 62 countries studied, fertiliser ranked 34, machinery ranked 38, finance ranked 16, markets ranked 54, transport ranked 59, water ranked 30 and ICT ranked 22.

The report presents data that measures legal barriers for businesses operating in agriculture in 62 economies and across 12 topic areas.

It provides quantitative indicators for eight topics on regulations for seed, fertiliser, machinery, finance, markets, transport, water and ICT.

Other themes such as gender and environmental sustainability were included in the report analysis to ensure that regulatory systems encourage inclusive and sustainable practices.

Additionally, scoring was piloted for the land topic for 38 countries, including Ghana, in which data were collected.

The report aims to foster a more conducive environment for the agribusiness by providing key data on regulatory frameworks that are globally comparable and actionable, and as well strengthen the information base that can be used for policy dialogue and reform.