23-Member Ghanaian livestock delegation in Nebraska for Strategic Modernisation Partnership
A 23-Member delegation of key stakeholders and value chain actors in Ghana’s livestock industry today heads to Nebraska for a week-long business tour under the Ghana–Nebraska Livestock Modernisation Partnership.
The programme, organised by the Ghana–Nebraska Agribusiness Growth and Trade Relations Chamber (GNEBCham) and Ecosyntra of Nebraska, with support from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, seeks to deepen transactional business engagements and facilitate trade.
The programme will also seek to link up investment partnerships, promote technology transfer and strengthen commercial collaboration between Ghana and Nebraska’s livestock and agribusiness sectors.
It will expose and place a highlight on Nebraska’s livestock solutions such as feedlot operations, animal breeding, disease control, meat processing, cold storage systems and efficient market linkages, with the goal of building synergies, while exploring solutions that could complement and support in advancing Ghana’s livestock drive efforts as part of the Feed Ghana policy agenda.
The Ghanaian delegation, which is being led by the Food and Agriculture Minister, Eric Opoku, will be joined by representatives of Ghanaian businesses.
They include senior officials from Exim Bank Ghana, Fidelity Bank Ghana, the Ghana National Livestock Breeders and Traders Association, Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, Joneva Enterprise, IRECO Royal Farms, Aspassion Farms, Simani Foods and Commodities Limited and the University of Ghana.
The Bono East Regional Minister, Francis Owusu Antwi, is co-leading the delegation, with a focused mission and projecting the livestock opportunities and growth potential in Bono East, widely referred to as the Food basket of Ghana.
Also participating are the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s Chief Director, Paul Siameh, the Feed Ghana Coordinator, Bright Kwadzo Demordzi, the Political Coordinator of the Bono East Regional Coordinating Council, Prince Opoku, and the Member of Parliament for Asunafo North, Haruna Mohammed, as well as the Regional Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs at the US Embassy, Dr Mariano Beillard.
Government’s broader agenda
Speaking ahead of the trip, Mr Opoku said the Livestock Modernisation Partnership programme supported the government’s broader agenda to strengthen food systems and improve livestock productivity in Ghana.
He noted that the partnership offered a valuable opportunity to experience Nebraska’s advanced livestock systems and infrastructure, and to explore ways to build shared partnerships, strengthen collaboration, and invest in solutions that would scale up Ghana’s livestock value chain sector.
For her part, the Co-Founder of GNEBCham, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, described it as a transformative and sustainable step for the sector, with a focus on driving progress, for Ghana’s livestock value chains, which had demonstrated a greater potential in securing Ghana’s food future, given the right approaches, solutions, investment and partnerships.
While in Nebraska, the delegates will engage with U.S. agribusiness leaders, tour modern feedlots and meat processing facilities and take part in business-to-business sessions designed to attract investment across production, processing and distribution.
In-depth knowledge
Former Nebraska State Senator and Co-Founder of the GNEBCham, Ken Schilz, indicated that the trip would provide Ghana’s livestock delegation with an in-depth look into Nebraska’s livestock, dairy, poultry, feedyard, research and agricultural innovation systems as part of efforts to support Ghana’s livestock modernisation agenda.
Delegates will arrive in Omaha for a week-long series of educational tours, strategic meetings and agricultural engagement opportunities focused on livestock production, value chain integration, agribusiness partnerships and modern agricultural technologies.
Institutions
The delegation is expected to visit key institutions and facilities, including the Prairieland Dairy, Lincoln Premium Poultry, Weber Feedyard, Bruning Farms, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Centre.
The writer the Digital and Impact Communications Lead, Agrihouse Foundation
