A delegation from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana made a visit to the 2SCALE partnerships late in January 2021. Tamanaa, Faranaya and Kedan are three active partnerships the team from the embassy visited. The activities in these partnerships are essentially based on the aggregation, processing and sale of staple crops and their respective products, namely rice, sorghum and maize. These activities are helping to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers, increase the incomes of different actors in the value chains and create jobs for women and the youth (male and female).
March 01, 2021
The Dutch Embassy visits 2SCALE partnerships in Ghana
To understand the real impact of activities in these partnerships in the communities, the delegation first visited Tamanaa, where the team met with the business champion and women in rice processing. In the operational areas of the Tamanaa partnership, most of the young women without jobs migrate to major cities for non-existing jobs. To reduce migration to the cities, the Tamanaa partnership engages women rice processors. The company is setting up rice processing centers where these women will undertake rice parboiling in a quality controlled environment to process rice that meets quality standards of Tamanaa for onward marketing to BoP consumers.
In the premises of Faranaya, the team toured the aggregation center where sorghum is received from the farmers, processed and delivered to Guinness Ghana limited. The visit continued with the presentation of some major achievements of the partnership. The presentation highlighted the introduction of green innovations, seed production, grain quality improvement, women economic empowerment and BoP product development and marketing.
On the sidelines of the visit, there was a mini exhibition organized by women processors and B-diet to further highlight the dimensions of the partnership. This exhibition greatly aroused the enthusiasm of visitors, some of whom discovered for the first time the range of new products made from sorghum. The team took the opportunity to interact with the processors and learn more on the nutritious products developed from sorghum.
To conclude the visit in the Faranaya partnership, the delegation went to “Asikiri”, a farming community in the Bawku district where the team interacted with smallholder farmers involved in the production of sorghum. Here also, discussions were about the business relation between farmers and Faranaya, and how with the support of 2SCALE, farmers are increasing the production of sorghum in quality and in quantity. The spokesperson of the farmers cooperative said:
For a very long time, we have been looking for a sorghum variety that can mature early so that we can always capture with the rains. This year Faranaya and 2SCALE setup a demonstration plot in our community to introduce this sorghum variety. this will go a long to help us reduce the impact of reducing rainfall in the area. Through this we can have enough sorghum for sale for income.
The last stage of the visit took place at Kedan's. Located in the upper west region of Ghana, Kedan is engaged in the production of maize grits, flour and maize bran. The visit to this partnership enabled the delegation to understand activities implemented thus far. The business champion highlighted access to finance, production and marketing development as the key areas they have received support and the impact is gradually showing in sales and quality of maize from farmers.
This first visit of a delegation from the Embassy is a testimony of the interest that the Dutch government grants to the 2SCALE program in its approach to incubating and accelerating the agro-food industry in Africa. New perspectives are emerging. The Embassy and 2SCALE will develop synergies for opportunities in the poultry sector to produce local chicken precuts.
Learn more about our 65 inclusive partnerships.
https://www.2scale.org/en/partnerships