Local Small and Medium Enterprises have been transformed into competitive businesses and farmers lives improved with the implementation of the “Grains for Growth ” Programme.
The Programme, an innovative partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and IDH, aims to transform Ghana’s Grains market.
It aims to develop inclusive, and economically viable grain supply chains that will offer employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, contribute to better incomes, and improve the livelihoods of farmers, especially women and youth.
Grain production in Northern Ghana is largely characterized by informal supply chains, where actors have limited access to affordable financing solutions, mechanized farming, and quality agro-inputs.
These constraints negatively impact the quality and volumes of grain production, and the ability of SMEs to attract and maintain premium-paying buyers, resulting in limited commercial investments.
Through a market-led approach, the programme will contribute to the development of the grains sector – maize, rice, millet, fonio, and sorghum supply chains, support the inclusion of Smallholder Farmers (SHF), and create jobs, with a central focus on women and youth empowerment.
Overall, the programme has made some commendable strides, notwithstanding the global economic recession, and sociocultural challenges impacting the sector businesses, and made some significant contributions to the grains sector and the lives of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana.
The programme’s components and anticipated results include Diagnostic and Service Delivery Model (SDM) analyses, SME technical, operational, and managerial support, improved production and mechanization, digitalization for SHF engagement, business development, and access to affordable financing.
Mr Robert Asugure, the Country Director for IDH, said they believed that there was a congruent interest to create more impact on a scale and that was why they partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to develop the Programme.
He said they were able to reach out to so many farmers and off-takers and the brands to be able to do this Programme and support industrial processing and food security.
Mr Razak Bongo, a beneficiary, said life was difficult for him before IDH came in to support because when he was unable to get money to buy farm inputs to apply to his farm to get more output
Mr Alhassan Nuhu, a Project Coordinator for DEGAS, said as an Agritech Company, they supported farmers with farm inputs.
He said IDH happened to be a partner of DEGAS through the Mastercard Foundation so through that DESAG was able to mobilize some support for its farmers and some training packages to improve upon the activity they were carrying on in their communities.
Mr Hikimatu Kadiri, the CEO of AgroMart Limited said after Senior High School, he developed an interest in farming and then he sought out land and fortunately, he was offered five acres of land.
He said it was almost at the end of the season that he had a tractor to plough his land and due to that it affected his yields.
He said he benefitted from the Mastercard Foundation Programme and was awarded a contract to supply 200 bags of NPK and then 200 bags of millet seeds which was a total of 23,000 dollars.
He said in the 2022/2023 crop season, he was again awarded a contract to provide mechanization service and supply inputs with a total amount of 47,000 dollars.
In the first year of the programme, 20,924 smallholder farmers from seven SMEs in the maize, rice, millet, and fonio commodity chains in Northern Ghana were supported by the Programme to cultivate grains on a combined total of 19,124 acres of farmland.
The programme’s contributions are critical support mechanisms given the current landscape where there’s a drastic increase in the cost of production due to high inflation, high cost of seeds and fertilizers, limited mechanization services, weather uncertainties from climate change, and depreciation of the local currency that deterred many farmers from producing grains in 2022.
