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Engage in agribusiness - Organisation urges women
The Chamber of Women in Agribusiness Ghana in collaboration with the Women in Agriculture Development Directorate under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has introduced 11 contestants for Miss Agriculture Ghana 2021. The beauty pageant is to project opportunities along the agriculture value chain.
The contest also seeks to encourage women to venture into agribusiness.
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The theme for this year’s event is “Miss Agriculture Ghana: Beauty with purpose, the female agriculturist”.
The contest was premiered in 2017, making this year’s the fourth in the series.
2021 Contestants
The contestants, majority of them tertiary students, pitched their project ideas on how they would impact the agriculture sector and the country.
The activities they intend to carry out include farming and adding value to cassava, vegetables, mushrooms and tiger nuts. Others are rearing of snails, livestock and rabbits.
Some of the contestants have also chosen awareness creation programmes such as educating junior and senior high school students on why they should venture into agribusiness.
Additional focus is to sensitise farmers to the use of improved seeds instead of the continuous reliance on traditional seeds.
Objective
Speaking at the launch of the contest and also to unveil the contestants, the Director of the Women in Agriculture Development Directorate, Ms Paulina Addy, indicated that the contest was aimed at encouraging ladies to patronise agribusiness, saying, “the encouragement for young ladies to get into agriculture is paramount”.
Ms Addy observed that even though the COVID-19 pandemic collapsed a lot of businesses, food was always in demand.
“Therefore, we, as a country, can either produce, add value or market agricultural produce.
“We have to dip our hands into the soil to produce some food or transform food into a nice package to support humanity,” she said.
Ms Addy further urged the media to support agricultural activities by reporting more on initiatives being undertaken in the sector.
Grooming
The Public Affairs Manager of Blue Skies, a food processing company, Mr Alistair Djimatey, indicated that the 11 contestants would be groomed and guided on their various projects.
“The whole idea is to equip the ladies through advocacy training, networking and capacity building.
“If you go through the grooming, you will come out as a better person even if you do not win the crown,” he said.
Mr Djimatey admonished the contestants to seek advice to improve their ideas, saying “the best idea will be selected to push the agriculture agenda”.
Agribusiness
The Head of Public Relations at the MoFA, Mr Bagbara Tanko, advised the contestants and the youth in the country to support agriculture in the country.
“Whether you make it to the top or not, make sure you start something to promote agribusiness in Ghana. Let it be practical and realistic,” he said.
The Founder and Project Coordinator of the Miss Agriculture Ghana, Ms Oheneba Akosua Kyerewaa, disclosed that the prizes for winners included a GH¢5,000 cash prize, representing the brand at the National Farmers Day celebration, as well as a trip to Dubai for the “World Expo”, an international exhibition that seeks to celebrate human brilliance and accomplishment.
To crown the day, the contestants cut a cake designed as a food crop.