The first ever Rite FM organized Agri-forum, (RAF 2016) has ended in Somanya in the Yilo Krobo municipality of the Eastern region. The forum which was held on Wednesday at the conference hall of the Yilo Mango Farmers Association was aimed at creating conducive platform that will provide the grounds for relevant inputs for the development of agriculture within the Krobo communities.
Another drive behind the program was to address one of the dire challenges confronting most farmers which is the lack of investment through partnership, alliance formation and network establishment.
The event which drew hundreds of participants from across the agriculture value chain in the Lower Manya Krobo, Upper Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo areas saw impressive presentations in the areas of agribusiness, financing, investments, value addition and expansions through mechanized farming.
The forum also provided a common platform for agri-pruners, investors, experts and NGOs to help promote agriculture in the Krobo communities in a platform designed to come to the aid of farmers.
Special guest speaker at the event, Mr. Davis Narh Korboe, chairman of the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana in his key note address indicated that Agriculture and Agribusiness were amongst the fastest-growing sectors in Africa while noting that the potential of Africa’s Agricultural sector currently surpassed its current output.
The 2009 national best farmer who is also the Board Chairman of FMSL while expressing his delight at the program being the first of its kind in the Krobo communities noted the several challenges confronting farmers. ‘Farmers face many challenges for which we will not trace the cause of these challenges. We will rather try to find realistic interventions towards solving some of these challenges within our capacity,’ Mr. Korboe challenged.
Chief Executive Officer of Farm Management Systems Limited, FMSL, operators of Rite FM, Mr. Johnnie Addo-Fening stressed the point that agriculture remained the primary source of livelihoods and had the potential to ensure food security and contribute to economic growth both at the national and district levels. He added that it was the reason that RITE FM was committed to using its platform to promote agriculture and social development.
According to him, the Agri-Forum was a demonstration of that commitment which comes to build on a track record the company had established implementing projects on agriculture and social developments over the years.
He acknowledged the contributions of partner organizations and agencies such as Socioserve-Ghana, Ghana AIDS commission, Star Ghana, USAID, World Vision and Farm Radio International amongst others whom the company has collaborated with to deliver key projects.
Other speakers on the day included the honorable Andrews Soda, MCE, Yilo Krobo Municipality, representatives from the Upper Manya Klo Rural Bank Ltd and Yilo Star Micro Finance. Others included Mr. Alfred Adjabeng, CEO and Founder of School Farms, Mr. Katu, Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP), Miss Hilda Huadji, Lower Manya Krobo Agric Dept. who doubles as Head of Women in Agricultural Development and Mr. Kwame Amoakohene, CEO of CTA engineering Ghana Limited.
In all, a number of stakeholders from the sector including leaders of Farmer-Based Organizations, (FBOs), business-minded farmers, the youth in agriculture, agriculture processors, investors, Agri-preneurs among others partook in the day’s event.
The event was by the kind sponsorship of FMSL, Upper Manya Klo Rural Bank Ltc, Colour Magic, Surf Publications and Maridav. Others were CTA Engineering, Blue Skies Foundation, AgriSeed, DiGrow, among others.
Source: ritefmonline.org
