English
Français
AFC has been supporting the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for over a decade to strengthen market oriented agriculture and agribusiness in Ghana, between 2009 and 2021 in the context of the Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP). Since 2021 in the implementation ofthe project Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz), which will run until 2024. In this context, one of the key areas of activity has been the support to inclusive business models in the provision of agricultural services, among others in the mango sector.
In 2012, the Bacterial Black Spot (BBS) was detected as a new disease threatening the mango industry in Ghana. In a few years it had spread widely to mango farms in the country and as a result, the average mango yield had dropped from 3 t/acre to 1,4 t/acre, leaving farmers devastated. In this context, AFC supported GIZ in the training of mango farmers to promote good agricultural practices and prevent the disease from further spreading.
Yaw Asenso-Mensah was by then Agricultural Extension Agent (AEA) and about to retire: “We knew pruning is an effective mean to manage the disease - but no good pruning tools were available by that time. Additionally, pruning is heavy work and most mango farmers are 55 – 60 years old. So, they just hired people from the street without any skills for this work, which did not improve the situation. Indeed, mango farmers were cutting down entire farms due to BBS. This was when I approached GIZ with my idea and they came in with their support instantly.”
Mr Asenso’s idea was to set up a business specialized in pruning and spraying services for mango and other tree crop farmers. Therefore he approached GIZ/AFC, who supported him from the start, bringing on board a renowned BBS and pruning expert. Mr Asenso’s newly established company named “Plant Pest and Disease Company Limited (PPEDCO)” started work and served 25 farms in the first year and their work area augmented to 86 farmers in 4 districts in the second year of operation. Additionally, PPEDCO was able to open an office in the nearby town for interested farmers to order the service directly. The company was able to extend its service also to harvesting, which ensures the group members to gain income year-round from the different activities.
“GIZ/AFC has been a strong partner for PPEDCO from the start on. They supported us with various training such as pruning and canopy management, spraying and harvesting as well as record keeping, business management, coaching and monitoring in order to ensure the profitability of the business. Also, an initial set of pruning tools and personal protective equipment was provided”, confirms Mr Asenso. PPEDCO started operations with 30 young men newly hired as members of the service team and is currently providing employment to over 80.
One challenge that PPEDCO still faces is the challenge of farmers to pay directly for the services and inputs. Often, they must wait until farmers have harvested and sold, which requires PPEDCO to work based on loans. Luckily, all loans have been repaid so far. However, PPEDCO started discussions with leading mango processing companies in the country to assist farmers with the payment of the chemicals to spray against BBS in a joint arrangement with a major input provider: The input provider supplies the chemicals to PPEDCO to spray the farms and the mango processing company pre-finances the inputs, buys the fruits and deducts the costs from the payment to the farmer.
For further information please contact matthias.webendoerfer [at] afci.de.