The Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference is a business forum and an interventional platform that provides opportunities for various value chain actors in the agriculture sector to meet, discuss business, contracts and work together as a coherent team.

The goal is to ensure that enough produce is available locally for consumption thereby drastically reducing importation.

The gathering will include farmers, public and private sector business officials and other ideas people.

The event over the last seven years has succeeded in supporting and improving the activities of several thousands of farmers and businesses in the agric and agric-related sectors in Ghana.

In his view, Dr. Emmanuel Dormond, the USAID Chief of Party – ADVANCE, believes that the event has been very beneficial to participants over the last seven years.

“Starting in 2009 with a little over 200 participants, the event today has grown to attract over 1000 Participants who are willing and paying to attend in order to have the opportunity to transact business.

Several Participants have confirmed that they have made business deals, got contracts, as well as getting buyers who are ready to take their produce,” he said.

“I will advise everyone in this sector who wants to grow to take the opportunity this platform provides to make strides,” he added.

On her part, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, organizers of the event, Alberta Nana Akyea Akosa said, the 8th edition of the event was expected to see an even bigger participation as more and more famers, farmer groups and businesses in the sector have expressed interest in participating.

“We at Agrihouse Foundation are very excited to have taken over the organization of this event after seven successful years of it being organized by the USAID. This year’s edition has attracted a lot of inputs from private sector and international organizations, making it an exciting experience. We expect a much larger number of participating exhibitors and conference attendees this year judging from the early signals we are picking up. This we believe is as a result of the immense benefits the previous editions have provided its participants,” She said.

“Agribusiness is the way to go in poverty reduction and national development. I am elated and grateful to the various institutions that have seen wisdom in this idea and have supported it over the years. I call on other well meaning organizations to come forward to lend helping hands so together we can build a stronger agric sector and a bigger national economy led by agriculture,” She concluded.

The 8th Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition & Conference is being partnered by the World Food Programme, USAID, the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana and being sponsored by Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Kosmos Energy, Hatoum Trading,  LK International, Mel Consult, Interplast and Afgri John Deree.

Over 2,000 participants are expected in Tamale for the event whose conference will see over ten practical and engaging topics being discussed to be led by knowledgeable and skilled individuals in the agric and other related sectors.

Aside showcasing the many activities and businesses in the various areas of the agriculture sector, such as seed production, fertilizer, finance, fisheries, storage, machinery, livestock, packaging & processing, ICT among others, participants will be taken through practical and engaging sessions at the conference to enable them gain deeper insights into best practices as well as on how to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities in the agric sector for growth.

These sessions include, Farming with Purpose, Food Safety and Quality Standard, Seed Systems, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Poultry and Livestock, Custom and Contract Farming among others. There will also be Panel discussions, Development Partner Roundtable dialogues, Field trips and farm demonstrations.