Ardhi Farms Partners HortiFresh, Others to Upscale Greenhouse Production in Ghana

A Ghanaian agribusiness start up, Ardhi Farms, is collaborating with Hortifresh and other partners to take greenhouse production in Ghana to an all new level.

Greenhouse production is expected to increase in the near future to meet the growing demands of a growing population of Ghanaians and Africans who are in need of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables for their daily meal requirements.

It is therefore envisaged that with the expected increase in the consumption of food, there is the need for countries with potentials in agribusiness to take up the challenge and put in place efficient agricultural value chain development technologies and practices that will ensure that there is enough food security.

To this effect, Ardhi Investment Group in collaboration with its partners and Horifresh has organized a greenhouse open day at the premises of Ardhi farms in Akuse, in the Eastern Region, on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 to give patrons a firsthand information and experience about greenhouse production.

The open day which was held under the theme: ”21^st Century Practices for Maximizing your Yield” brought together selected stakeholders in horticultural production in Ghana including farmer groups from different parts of the country as well as experts and companies from the Netherlands specialized in greenhouse production.

Ardhi Investment Group is an agribusiness start up focusing on the development of climate smart agricultural value chains mainly through greenhouse and hydroponics farming, which has teamed up with a group of Dutch companies; Greenspan and Profyta to support vegetable growers in the tropical zones of Africa.

The Purpose is to support the growers to deliver the highest yields in very difficult conditions, provide them with seeds suitable for tropical conditions, field and remote consultancy, tutorials on smart-farming and training among others.

The Co-Founder and Managing Director of Ardhi Investment Group, Mr. Akofa Ata, told the gathering who were taken round the farms for firsthand information on the technology being used to produce fresh and healthy vegetables for the market that, “there is a unique opportunity for all to participate along the different levels of the value chain, an act that will lead to the creation of wealth for our country, communities and self”.

According to him, the partners believe that the various innovative practices are largely responsible for their huge success hence the need to organize such an event to give patrons timely information and experience.

Dutch Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Ron Strikker, lauded Ardhi Farms for such a great initiative while expressing his excitement in seeing Ghanaian and Dutch businesses working together to take greenhouse production to a new level.

He observed that greenhouse production best fits the trend where the new generation of consumers request for vegetables that are healthy and look beautiful because “in the greenhouse, pest and diseases can be controlled much better than in outside production”.

The Dutch Ambassador reiterated the Netherlands’ long standing support for the agriculture sector in Ghana, stating that through Hortifresh, “we are promoting the use of advanced technology and knowledge in the horticulture sector”.

Hortifresh is a programme designed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the aim of prioritizing commercial agriculture as its strategic plan of moving from aid to trade.

The mission is to establish a sustainable and internationally competitive fruit and vegetable sector that contributes to inclusive economic growth, food, nutrition security in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Source: Clement Akoloh || Africanewsradio.com