Stakeholders have called for a unified national approach to align Ghana’s scattered innovation efforts in the agri-food sector.
That, they said, would be the most effective way to empower entrepreneurs in the agriculture and agribusiness (agripreneurs) and transform the agri-food systems in Ghana.
The stakeholders made the call at the maiden Regional Innovation Synergies (RIS) Conference 2025 organised by the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Innovation and Incubation Hub.
The stakeholders included representatives from different programmes in the sector, such as the Nkabom Collaborative Lead, Professor Richmond Aryeetey; the Deputy Director Operations, Africa Climate Collaborative (ACC), Dr Adelina Mensah, and the Country Technical Lead, RISA Fund, Gameli Adzaho.
The experts agreed that synthesised efforts could tackle challenges in Ghana’s food value chain from production to consumption.
They also called on partners to rally help behind the ideas put forward by the youth who were active in the agri-food sector.
They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening partnerships that linked research, industry and youth entrepreneurship to national development.
Event
The conference, held on the theme: “Aligning partnerships for innovation”, was established with the goal of unifying the university’s previously dispersed innovation initiatives within a single, high-impact platform.
The two-day event brought together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and development partners who explored ways to align Ghana’s scattered innovation efforts with national development priorities.
The conference also featured exhibitions of youth-led agri-food innovations and climate-smart technologies and a pitch competition featuring fifteen agri-food startups on the second day.
Policy support
For his part, Prof. Aryeetey urged government agencies to strengthen the regulatory and financial environment required for youth-driven innovations to grow.
“The reality is that there are different things that have to be done and one agency cannot do that,” he said.
He stressed that universities continued to provide capacity and competence but required complementary policy support.
“We want the government to do a part of it, which is creating a good regulatory environment.
These innovators need efficient business registration processes, intellectual property protection and predictable financial conditions to build sustainable enterprises,” he stated.
He called for incentives that promote collaboration among Ghanaian businesses and innovation hubs to push innovators to partner, scale and commercialise promising ideas.
Inclusion
For her part, Dr Mensah emphasised that the ACC focused on assisting marginalised communities, specifically women, refugees or displaced individuals, and people with disabilities.
She explained that those groups often encountered systemic obstacles to obtaining the education necessary to develop innovative solutions, which justified prioritising them.
Separately, Mr Adzaho stated that the RISA Fund aimed to bridge the educational gap between rural and urban areas.
He sees the partnership with the University of Ghana (UG) as a step toward addressing this disparity, illustrating that rural innovation must be tailored to its specific context to succeed fully.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
