GGBL calls for investment in agric sector

Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) has urged investors to turn their attention to the agricultural sector which, it said, had the potential for growth and greater returns. 

The company observed that investments in commercial agriculture would bring enormous benefits to local farmers, the community and the country as a whole.

The Corporate Relations Director of GGBL, Gabriel Opoku-Asare, made the call at the fifth agribusiness entrepreneurship boot camp held at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra. 

The event was aimed at training entrepreneurs through critical thinking exercises and business framework modelling to build a sustainable venture in the agribusiness supply chain.

Participants were addressed by industry experts on topics such as Supply Chain Management, Supplier Development, Value-addition and Fostering of Partnerships.

Policies

Mr Opoku-Asare said “effective government policies are essential in developing agribusiness in Ghana”, adding that since the passage of the Customs and Excise (Duties & Other Taxes) (Amendment) Act, (Act 855) in 2012, crops such as sorghum, maize and cassava had become commercially viable to many farmers. 

 “The GGBL, as a guaranteed off-taker, uses the crops for the production of our premium products. Currently, we have increased the amount of local raw materials in our brands from 12 per cent in 2012 to 48 per cent, with a commitment to achieve an 80 per cent target by 2020,” he said. 

He indicated that that required significant investment in farmer education, yield and quality improvement that would ensure consistent supply of local raw materials for innovation and brand re-engineering. 

Organisers

Officials of the Diaspora Angel Investment Network (DAIN), organisers of the programme, said they were impressed about the GGBL’s progress in agribusiness. 

The Programmes Director of the network, Nii Simmonds, noted that the country had potentials in agriculture and said the challenge was how to encourage entrepreneurs to move from subsistent practices to commercial farming. 

“A fifth edition only means more people are hungry for such knowledge and that is what we are here to do. Such great insights from GGBL also boost morale,” he indicated. 

A participant at the event, Anita Ansong, explained that she went for the event to be guided on starting an agribusiness on her own. 

“Guinness Ghana painted a very realistic picture and I actually saw more business opportunities which I can tap into. I am very inspired and I think it’s possible for me to start something, especially in the cassava industry,” she said.

The GGBL is a subsidiary of Diageo PLC and currently engages over 16,000 small-scale farmers across Ghana. The brands that are made from locally sourced materials include Ruut Extra, made from cassava, and Top Malt and Guinness Africa Special from sorghum, mostly sourced from the northern part of country. 

All the other brands of the company have also been re-engineered to include local raw materials.