Business model confab in agric opens in Rwanda: Alberta Akosa speaks for Ghana’s rural youth, women
This year’s International Business Models in Agriculture Conference (IBMA) opens today (Monday) in Kigali, Rwanda, on the theme: “Reshaping Agribusiness Models for Building Prosperous Rural Communities.”
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The IBMA, organised by the Africa Organisation of Technology in Agriculture (AOTA), is a pivotal platform for open dialogue and exchanging ground breaking ideas to catalyze rapid and meaningful change in the agriculture value chain.
The four-day conference, which starts today and ends on March 28, is organised in collaboration with the University of Rwanda, Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB).
It is dedicated to fostering the essential transformation the agriculture value chain urgently requires.
By bringing together minds from around the world, the event aims to create an environment that fuels significant advancement in the agriculture sector, moving the lives of agripreneurs from the isolation of poverty to the cohesion of prosperity.
The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, has been invited to deliver the keynote speech on the topic, “Unlocking the potential of the rural youth (women and men) for innovation in the agriculture sector.”
The Co-Founder and Chairman of IBMA, Dr Nimrod Israel, explained that the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation had been invited to speak at the 2024 IBMA in acknowledgment of the substantial efforts and impact that had been achieved.
He said the foundation’s consistent continuous impact in Ghana's agricultural sector, especially in youth advocacy, women empowerment and enhancing market accessibility through their initiatives, project and interventions, was commendable.
The conference is expected to unite a diverse assembly of more than 500 delegates, including prominent government officials, respected academic experts in business and agriculture, leading agritech enterprises, innovative researchers, NGOs committed to change in the agriculture sector, dedicated farmers, farmer’s leaders, forward thinking investors, dynamic entrepreneurs and ambitious agribusiness startups.
Reshaping agric models
Emphasising the significance of reshaping agriculture models at a predeparture briefing in Accra, Ms Akosa explained that she would place prominence on agriculture’s economic impact and entrepreneurial opportunities.
“It will be an opportunity for me to highlight agribusiness modules that work, using the Agrihouse Foundation’s initiatives as a case study and further touch on innovations, creativity and that which attracts the rural youth to embrace agricultural opportunities, whiles increasing output and steadily improving the livelihoods,” she told the Daily Graphic.
She said the Agrihouse Foundation had a proven track record of implementing initiatives aimed at unlocking the potential of rural youth, both women and men, for innovation in the agriculture sector.
