Republic of Ghana Development Project, 2002-2005
NIFA collaborated with the Republic of Ghana 's Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to support agribusiness entrepreneurial development and extension development. The project goal was to build capacity within the country's extension system by enabling agricultural agents to improve farmers' ability to produce for the domestic and international markets. This was accomplished through the development and implementation of train-the-trainer workshops for Ghanaian agricultural extension personnel, conducted by experts from several U.S. land-grant universities and officials from the Republic of Ghana 's Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The trainers then shared their knowledge with Ghanaian producers.
The workshops covered six crops—okra, chili pepper, pineapple, sweet potato, mango, and papaya—and six agriculture-related topics:
- production through post-harvest handling, including transportation;
- value-added processing;
- export marketing;
- agribusiness development;
- farm entrepreneurship;
- and, the development of off-and-on farm human and institutional resources.
Six workshops, attended by over 200 people, were conducted. Attendees included MOFA staff, members from targeted cooperative groups, farmers, farm managers, and public and private extension officers. The workshops included lectures, demonstrations, audio-visual presentations, discussions, group work and group presentations. Several of the workshops involved a full day of practical field training.
The project was funded by U.S. Agency for International Development.
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