Guinness Ghana has jointly led the Agribusiness Workshop at the Africa 2.0 event with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The Workshop came off on Friday, November 2, 2014  on the theme ‘Agribusiness as an enabler for growth: moving from mere food stock to use as a development tool,’  at the Labadi Beach Hotel.

It was attended by several stakeholders  including farmers, investors, and media institutions.

Preba Greenstreet, Corporate Relations Director of Gunness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL), spearheaded the session that focused on recognising and tapping into the value chain of the agribusiness sector.

She presented on GGBL’s Local Raw Material Agenda which, since December 2012, has demonstrated its commitment to adding value into agribusiness in Ghana by its usage of local raw materials for the production of its premium brands such as Ruut Extra, Top Malt and Malta Guinness.

Ms. Greenstreet said, “It’s important for Ghana to move from subsistence farming to farming as a business. Young people need to see the value in the supply chain of agricultural materials to industries such as ours.”

GGBL’s vision is to generate long-term business value with locally and sustainably sourced raw materials, namely sorghum, maize and cassava, which meet world class quality standards and have a positive impact on the communities and environment in which it operates.

GGBL’S Local Raw Material project has impacted over 16,300 farmers and families providing a sustainable source of livelihood, and expanded the revenue base whilst adding value across the chain. 

Mr. Moussa Djangoudi, a representative of the FAO said, “Agribusiness is a powerful driver of the continent’s relentless growth and it’s important to prepare our farmers to meet the global standards and procedures in order to export value-added products. Africa has the youngest median age of 19.4% and this represents real potential for the continent.”

Edison Gbenga Ade, founder of Agripro, added, “The Agribusiness opportunity is real but young people are not recognizing this opportunity. We need to rebrand the image of agribusiness to make it more enticing for the youth. We must also bridge the gap between buyers and sellers. The biggest value loss is farm-to-market and with the right transformation we can re-capture lost value of about 50%.”

The Workshop agreed on a number of actions to be implemented under the Africa 2.0 banner, to galvanise growth within this sector.

Africa 2.0 is a community of entrepreneurs and emerging leaders from Africa and the Diaspora committed to building global networks and enduring relationships amongst people of African descent and those interested in Africa's sustainable development and economic growth.