SADA Districts’ Agribusiness Investment Opportunities
I am very happy to present to you some of the key agribusiness investment opportunities in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana. Thanks to the collaboration with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), USAIDFinancing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (USAID-FinGAP) is poised to facilitate significant investment into agribusinesses in Ghana.
The Northern Savannah Ecological Zone , defined as the area north of the 8th parallel, constituting the regions of Northern,Upper East, Upper West and some parts of Brong Ahafo and Volta regions, is Ghana’s “breadbasket”. The Zone is the principal source of most of the nation’s rice, soy beans, maize, millet, sorghum, yam, tomatoes, cattle, sheep, goats and cotton to Ghana’s largest markets in the South, to Kumasi the capital of the
Ashanti region, and to Accra, Ghana’s capital. Additionally there is significant trade between Ghana and its immediate neighbors Burkina Faso to its North, Togo to its East, Côte d’Ivoire to its West and other West African countries.
Arable land is abundant in Ghana’s North and is relatively unpopulated compared to the rest of the country. A two-lane highway in relatively good condition and generally uncongested is the main physical infrastructure supporting North-South trade.Lake Volta, formed after the Akosombo Dam was completed in 1965, provides hydroelectric power for Ghana, as well as for neighboring Togo and Benin and is another major transportation
route from North to South Ghana, providing a waterway for ferries and cargo watercraft which provide good opportunity to enhance water transport to facilitate transportation of goods to and from northern Ghana.
Tamale, the largest city in Ghana’s North situated near agricultural production areas is developing into a major commercial agricultural center. Its location is ideal for serving as an aggregation/warehousing point and transport center to export routes north into Burkina Faso and other Sahelian
countries, as well as south to the major centers of Kumasi and Accra. Tamale is located at the northern edge of Lake Volta, from where it can expedite transportation of agricultural products via two southern routes: to Kumasi down the western side of Lake Volta, and to Accra/Tema on the eastern side of the lake.
USAID-FinGAP, managed by CARANA Corporation with implementing partner Connexus Corporation, is a five year program with the goal of increasing access to finance and investment in the soy, rice and maize sectors in the North of Ghana, and improving ancillary services so that agribusiness firms can operate at full capacity and expand levels of food security in the country. As part of the Feed the Future program, the project contributes to USAID’s overall goal of fostering broad-based, sustained and inclusive economic growth in Ghana.
USAID-FinGAP addresses a key constraint restricting the development of commercial agriculture and obtaining full food security in Ghana – access to finance necessary to enable investment in agricultural value chains. USAID-FinGAP uses a comprehensive approach to facilitate agriculture related investment, engaging a broad range of Ghanaian Financial Institutions (banks, private equity firms, leasing companies, investment funds, insurance, etc.) in providing agriculture oriented financing, in partnership with strategic investors and buyers of rice, maize and soy beans in Northern Ghana. USAIDFinGAP also facilitates investment in the agriculture sector in Ghana to complement other Government of Ghana (GOG) and donor programs aimed at expanding commercial agriculture. One of the key strategies of USAID-FinGAP is the promotion and realization of Public Private Partnership (PPP) investments in Agribusiness in Ghana as the key means to developing the agriculture sector. The investment opportunities presented in this booklet have been put together to provide investors looking to invest in Ghana’s agricultural sector the starting point to engage with SADA and the respective districts and USAID-FinGAP.
USAID-FinGAP is the clearing house for agribusiness investment in Ghana. We have a network of financial institutions and business advisory service providers who can make you realize your dreams. Come see us and you will find out more.
Best Wishes
Rick Dvorin, Chief of Party
USAID-FinGAP