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In the rural areas in the North Western part of Ghana, farming is a major source of income and livelihood. Access to agricultural inputs and to advisory services from agricultural experts and trained agro-input dealers are highly appreciated by farmers, for an increase in yield and production quality and thus a boost in income. As inputs have become more expensive, negatively affecting farmers’ income and productivity, access to quality inputs and advice on their correct and efficient use has become even more important. To curb this challenge, advisory services and agro-inputs have to be brought to the doorsteps of farmers, complementing every budget.
In this conext, since 2021, AFC is facilitating agricultural input fora in 14 districts of North-West Ghana, in its support to the Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP), which is implemented by GIZ with co-financing from the European Union.
These fora seek to connect agro-input dealers and farmers who are organized in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), making quality inputs accessible to farmers at convenient locations, at the right time, in the right amount and at affordable prices. The fora are usually organized at the start of each cropping season in such a fashion, that they coincide with the share-out of VSLA savings, to enable farmers to use their funds for the purchase of agricultural inputs. Furthermore, VSLAs aim to synchronize the share-out of their funds prior to the realization of the fora, so that inputs can be purchased at a better price through group orders.
Over the years, the fora have yielded impressive results. Farmers have benefited from improved access to certified seeds and inputs as well as advisory services provided by input dealers. At the same time, input dealers have increased incomes through sales.
In practice, agricultural inputs dealers, generally from the district capitals, participate in one or more fora - depending on their assessment of the distances and costs involved - as costs for transportation of sales staff and inputs are covered by themselves. The location of each forum is selected with the aim of being conveniently accessible to farmers from at least three local farming communities.
“The fora have enabled me to increase my customer base and sales. I made GHC 8,000 (some EUR 800) in sales for the 2 weeks I participated in the 2023 Fora’’, stated Kwabena Nazie, an Agro Inputs dealer in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District in the Upper West Region.
Due the proximity to their operational areas, farmers no longer have to spend money on bus fares to travel to urban centres for the purchase of agricultural inputs.
“In 2022, with my group, we ordered pesticides worth GHC 8,000 to be brought to our community. In the past, we would have gone to the market to buy them, which wasn’t always safe”, says Justina Baseble, a farmer in Nandom Municipal.
For the current cropping season, a total of 42 fora were organized between May and July of 2023 , bringing together some 2.000 farmers (65% women) from 72 participating VSLAs and 42 agro-inputs dealers, facilitating combined sales of almost EUR 20.000. The most important inputs were herbicides with 37% of all sales, followed by fertilizers (25%) and improved seeds (22%).
Contrary to the fora in 2021 and 2022 where MOAP offered some financial support, the 2023 edition was co-organized by the Agricultural Inputs Dealers and the VSLA‘s without MOAP-NW financial support. This is a great achievement for the future sustainability of this event, after the pogramme fades out in 2025.
For further information, please contact Matthias.Webendoerfer [at] afci.de.