Ahafo Agribusiness Growth Initiative (AAGI)

Overview

The Ahafo Agribusiness Growth Initiative (AAGI) is a community based integrated agricultural development project that aims to stimulate economic growth and improve the livelihood of communities in the Ahafo area by:

• Strengthening agricultural productivity
• Improving farm management skills
• Building the capacity of agro- processors
• Increasing market linkages and supply chain interventions

The project was designed by Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd and African Connections Ghana Ltd in partnership with eight communities in South Ahafo: Kenyasi No. 1, Kenyasi No. 2, Ntotroso, Hwidiem, Wamahinso, Gyedu, Nkaseim and Nkrankrom.

AAGI seeks to achieve these objectives by training community members to build on indigenous agricultural practices and business skills to increase productivity. AAGI also aims to link partner communities to input credit and available local, regional, national and international markets.

AAGI Phase One

Phase One of AAGI lasted for a period of six months, during which time over 1,300 farmers and MSME owners were trained. Phase One focused on High Impact Training (HIT) including:

• Agricultural productivity skills
• Farm management skills
• Farm business skills
• Micro and small medium enterprises development skills (MSME)

AAGI Interim Phase

Rationale

Phase One ended in September 2006 and an Interim Phase Design was necessary for farmers to take advantage of identified marketing opportunities for selected crops during the major planting season of 2007 while plans were made for Phase Two of AAGI.

Objectives of the Interim Phase

• Focus on group formation and group capacity building
• Build the capacity of groups to produce crops to meet export standards (EUROGAP and GAPs)
• Improve and continue the High Impact Training (HIT) to increase farmer productivity, improve farmer business skills and financial literacy
• Link groups to markets and input credit funding sources

High Impact Training (HIT)

A key feature of the AAGI project is the High Impact Training (HIT) which aims at building farmer capacity through intensive, practical training designed to build on indigenous agricultural practices and improve farm management and business skills to increase productivity and profitability for participants.

The HIT program has three components: Farmer Association Training, Farmer Productivity Training and Farmer Business Skills Training.

• The training sessions are held simultaneously at three different locations (Hwidiem, Ntotroso and Nkasiem)
• Each class has 60-70 participants
• 2500 Ahafo residents will be trained during the Interim Phase
  

Crop Production Strategies

Selected Crops			Action Plan
Chili Pepper			Train farmers on best agricultural practices Use demonstration farms for hands on training Link farmers to identified input suppliers Train farmers to meet export requirements including EUROGAP AND GAPs
Soybean
Ginger
Maize
Plantain

Agro-Processing Strategies

Selected Commodities			Action Plan
Palm Oil			Train processors on best practices to meet market standards Link processors to identified input suppliers Link processors to market
Gari

AAGI Marketing Approach

Financing Strategies

Anticipated Impact of AAGI

• Improved food security (increase in quantity, quality and variety of food supply, optimization of stable flow of food supplies)
• Improved income levels and employment generation
• Increased technical and market information access to farmers and FBOs
• Improvement of farmer productivity and business skills
• Increase in farmers' awareness of ethical standards of food safety and quality, as well as safety precautions in farming activities
• Improvement in trade conditions of the farmer and farmer groups (in relation to input supply and sales of produce)
• Increased number of trainers / technical assistance providers, working in the various communities

Achievements as of May 31 2007

• Five associations and 196 groups organized around the five selected crops
• Over 2,600 farmers organized into groups and associations
• Approximately 2,000 farmers have benefited from HIT
• Six Palm Oil and One Gari group have been organized
• 10 chili pepper and 21 maize groups have accessed input-credit
• Excellent working relationships established with input suppliers, microfinance institutions and agro-processors for the benefit of farmers

Challenges

• While over 2,600 farmers organized into groups, a lot of work must be done to improve group dynamics and sustainability
• The Interim Phase began later than anticipated and as such, the rains arrived before many of the groups could access input credits
• Past credit histories of some groups makes acquiring new credit difficult