About 70 fruits and vegetable-producing companies are participating in the 3-day event of the 5th and last Edition of the HortiFresh fair in Accra.
The 3-day event which has attracted a lot of participants began on Thursday, 28th to Saturday, 30th October 2021 at the Efua Sutherland Park, is under the theme ” Enhancing Horticulture Trade Patterns in COVID-19 Era”.
It is also a collaborative effort between HortiFresh West Africa and the Chamber of Agribusiness, Ghana with support from the Netherlands embassy and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
The event is one of the biggest fairs to be held in the capital with a high demand of patronage from the public and would see companies in the horticulture sector displaying their locally produced materials.
Speaking after the opening ceremony, the Programs Manager of HortiFresh, Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah, stated that the event would serve as the biggest platform for the sector players.
She added that such events will help expose the agric input dealers to the competitive market in the era of COVID-19.
“With the emergence of Covid-19, it has become increasingly important for the sector to continue such events to foster partnerships and sensitize the general public about the activities of horticulture sector players”, she stated.
She hinted that the event would also see some discussions with SMEs on ways of improving the horticulture sector.
“Adding to the fair this year, are 3 seminars to be held concurrently to discuss salient issues affecting the
horticulture sector. This will help develop a conducive business climate for SMEs who are active and adding value to their horticulture businesses”, she said.
Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah again added that her outfit has also held a series of engagements with SMEs in the horticulture sector prior to the last edition this year.
“Our main component for engaging the sector has been financial support services, innovative financial deals, we also do agronomy support services, we have such programs that promote trade.
“We’ve done a lot with events with outreaches, with communicating sector studies to the sector as a whole, we collaborate through our policy support component with the ministry of Food and Agriculture and other public organisations, we also train companies. So currently we have collaborated with MDF Africa To train female-led companies,” she said.
The Deputy Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Lajtsa Lesseur acknowledged the achievements and positive impacts of the fair over the years on the international markets.
She revealed the support being extended from her outfit to the successful hosting of this year’s edition.
“HortiFresh has been doing a great job in the past many years and the Netherlands embassy has supported them with a total grant of €13m to set this up. We hope this continues, this public-private partnership with the help of the ministry and the authorities in Ghana”, she said.
“The sector has grown significantly, there is a lot of potentials, I think a lot of jobs have been created, a lot of young people have been able to enter into lucrative businesses. So a whole lot has been achieved over the years and Ghana is now exporting a lot of fruits and vegetables,” the Deputy Ambassador of Netherlands, Mrs. Lajtsa Lesseur said.
The Director of Crops and Services at the Ministry of Food And Agriculture, Dr. Seth Osei Akoto, admonished the collaboration of HortiFresh and Chamber for Agribusiness Ghana for the effective promotion of horticulture.
He advised the two entities to frequently keep the ministry up to date on its activities in order to promote transparency.
Among the companies that booked their space for the fair included but were not limited to; Eden tree, Srighan farms, Tucks farms, Agriseed and Vegan Dinner among others.
