Improving horticulture exports to create local jobs.
Context
USAID/Ghana’s TIPCEE project was designed to increase employment opportunities by improving the performance, value, and innovation of Ghana’s export industries, with a specific focus on horticulture. The project aimed to bolster Ghana’s agricultural presence in world markets by strengthening the high-value horticulture industry supply chains (pineapples, mangoes, papayas, vegetables, and cashews) from farm to market and working with policymakers and implementers to improve the legal environment for private-sector operations and investment.
Approach
Dexis experts determined which issues most affected the horticulture industry’s success, including transport, standards, quality control, access to new markets, innovative technologies, what constitutes value-addition, costs, and productivity. With this information, Dexis developed strategic plans and launched a program to promote and strengthen high-value horticulture clusters and horticulture exports in Ghana. Dexis developed cluster monitoring and management programs for key industries such as horticulture, tourism, and light manufacturing. Dexis also developed outreach programs to increase business and investment activity in Ghana.
Achievements
TIPCEE’s agribusiness development activities supported 11 value chains and reached rural households and farms in 131 districts in every region of Ghana. Initial interventions in horticulture trained over 50 stakeholders involved across the entire horticulture value chain. In many subsectors, including horticulture, market demand now drives agriculture and agribusiness. Farmers are treating agriculture more as a business and less as a lifestyle. By planting and producing for a contract with an identified market or buyer and understanding changing market trends, farmers can more accurately predict the profitability of their investments and the likelihood of successfully selling their crops.
