This is the concluding part of the article on Marketing: The missing link to boost agribusiness in Ghana published on November 17.
Promotion involves communicating product benefits, building awareness, and shaping consumer attitudes. Despite multiple “Made in Ghana” campaigns, promotion of agricultural products has been inconsistent and often short-lived. Effective promotion must be continuous, research-based, and strategically segmented.
Promotional strategies can include:
• Storytelling campaigns that highlight farmer dedication, sustainability, and local community impact.
• Social media marketing that targets young consumers and emphasises health, authenticity, and convenience.
• Collaborations with media houses, influencers, and chefs to showcase innovative uses of local products.
• Experiential marketing, such as fairs and tasting events, which allow consumers to engage directly with products.
Promotion is not only about visibility, but also about trust building.
Consumers are more likely to buy from producers or brands they perceive as transparent and consistent.
Developing traceability systems and quality seals can enhance consumer confidence in local agricultural products.
Distribution remains a structural challenge in Ghana’s agricultural sector. Post-harvest losses due to poor roads, inadequate storage, and lack of cold-chain logistics are estimated at 30–50% for perishable goods. Without reliable distribution systems, farmers struggle to access profitable urban and export markets.
A marketing approach emphasises efficient logistics and market accessibility. Investment in rural feeder roads, cold storage facilities, and aggregation centres can drastically reduce losses. Private sector innovations demonstrate how digital technologies can connect producers to consumers, processors, and exporters.
Furthermore, distribution strategies must evolve to include e-commerce and supermarket linkages. Building shorter supply chains, farmer-to-consumer, can improve transparency, profitability, and freshness.
Brand development: building agricultural identities
Branding is often overlooked in agricultural marketing, yet it is a powerful tool for differentiation and trust.
Strong brands communicate consistent value, evoke emotional connection, and command loyalty.
Ghanaian agricultural products often lack distinct brand identities, making them vulnerable to substitution.
Developing agricultural brands involves more than logos; it requires a strategic identity built around origin, quality, and purpose.
For instance, branding yam from the Bimbilla area as “Bimbilla Premium Organic Yam” could create regional distinctiveness.
Similarly, Volta Pineapple or Ashanti Cocoa Honey could establish localised authenticity and quality cues. Nationwide, a coordinated “Ghana Grown” brand could help consumers easily identify local agricultural products and foster patriotic consumption.
To mainstream marketing into agribusiness, Ghana needs an integrated policy framework that treats marketing as central to agricultural transformation.
Key policy recommendations include:
1. Institutionalising agricultural marketing education at tertiary and technical levels to build human capital for the sector.
2. Establishing agricultural marketing boards or strengthening existing market directorates to support promotion, branding, and export linkages.
3. Creating digital market information systems accessible to all farmers.
4. Providing fiscal incentives for firms investing in branding, packaging, and product innovation.
5. Encouraging research collaboration among universities, agribusiness firms, and government agencies to study consumer behaviour and market trends.
These interventions can collectively shift Ghana’s agricultural development from production-led to market-led growth.
Conclusion
Marketing is not merely an addition to agriculture; it is the engine of agribusiness transformation.
Without marketing, Ghana’s farmers remain price takers, not market shapers.
Integrating marketing principles (consumer insight, product innovation, pricing, promotion, distribution, and branding) can unlock enormous potential for value creation.
For Ghana to achieve its agricultural modernisation goals, policymakers, academics, and industry actors must embrace a market-oriented agricultural paradigm.
Farmers must be empowered not only to produce but also to understand markets, build brands, and deliver consistent value to consumers.
When marketing becomes central to agricultural planning, Ghana will not only feed itself but also compete effectively in regional and global markets.c