300 Smallholder Farmers Empowered by Agro Kings, Mastercard and Absa Bank Ghana’s Young Africa Works Programme
Agro Kings, the producer of Nana’s Rice, has teamed up with Mastercard Foundation together with Absa, in the “Young Africa Works” initiative to support smallholder farmers in the Kasunya-Nyapienya township. This initiative to train 300 smallholder farmers included equipping farmers with farm practices and protocols that achieve higher yields, quality and sustainable agriculture practices. This training was unveiled on March 9, 2022, oversubscribed with long queues formed each morning of the training sessions.
Admittedly, the role of smallholder farmers in attaining global food security cannot be underestimated. They are pivotal in achieving this goal. The Food and Agricultural Organization’s recent research reveals that the world’s smallholder farmers produce around a third of the world’s food. In Africa, almost all the agricultural workforce is employed in smallholder production systems rather than large farms. With the looming climate crisis, increasing global population and demand for food, it’s important to equip smallholder farmers with tools and knowledge on sustainable agriculture practices.
Advancing the lives of these indigenous smallholder farmers in Ghana is at the heart of the efforts between Agro Kings, Mastercard Foundation and Absa Bank. We expect this initiative to impact 300 smallholder farmers increasing their yield by 10% in the next two seasons. Miss Charis Naa Dromo Laryea, the Investor Relations and Partnership Executive at Agro Kings said “for a nation to move forward we need to have a capacity-building mindset — a mindset that is focused and knee-deep in raising self-sufficient entrepreneurs and individuals. It’s great to have been able to collaborate with the Mastercard Foundation and Absa Bank who share in the vision. We look forward to future sessions where we’ll be able to reach more farmers looking to be trained.”
Also, Celestine Duvor the Training Manager for the Absa Young Africa Works Programme said ‘the future of Ghana is in Agribusiness and the project is dedicated towards supporting and building the capacities of farmers and players within the agribusiness value chain’.
About Agro Kings
Agro Kings is an innovative enterprise premised on advancing human lives with a focus on farming, value-added agriculture and technology to support global food security. Currently working with over 300 smallholder farmers, the company is geared towards adding 1,700 by December 2022. Agro Kings product portfolio includes products such as Nana’s Rice, Chichi’s Sweet Potatoes, Mama’s Chicken, Nana’s Chilli and Ceresoya.
For further information, please visit: www.agrokings.io
About Absa Young Africa Works Programme
The Absa Young Africa Works Programme is a collaboration between Absa Bank Ghana and the Mastercard Foundation to deliver requisite resources such as funding, training, access to industry experts and access to players along the value chain to help scale up your micro, small or medium- scale business.
Written by: Naa Adei Kotey
