Africa-Press – Ghana. The Savannah Women Farmers Association (SWFA) has held a business incubation, cooperative capacity development, and value addition training for its Business Development Team (BDT) to strengthen women-led agribusinesses across the Northern Region.
The one-day training workshop, held in Tamale, brought together about 100 BDT members drawn from Savelugu, Nanton, Mion, Tolon, and Kumbungu Districts.
It formed part of the implementation of the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) project being carried out by SWFA with funding support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Mr Oseni Kabiru, Programmes Officer of SWFA, speaking during the training, said it was necessitated by the growing need to equip the BDT with practical skills in business incubation, cooperative governance, and value addition to effectively guide women farmers and youth agripreneurs.
He explained that although cooperatives had shown strong commitment, gaps in business planning, enterprise development and product diversification were limiting their growth.
He said, “The Business Development Team is our frontline support structure. Strengthening their capacity means strengthening cooperatives and individual agripreneurs. This training is to ensure they can help members develop bankable business plans, establish viable agribusiness ventures, and add value to products such as shea, rice, and vegetables.”
He said the participatory training approach, which included group exercises and photographic demonstrations, was designed to ensure practical learning and peer exchange adding that SWFA targeted the development of at least five new business plans and the incubation of three pilot enterprises within six months.
He said the training reflected SWFA’s commitment to inclusive agribusiness development and sustainable livelihoods especially for women farmers, strong cooperatives, entrepreneurship support, and improved market access in the northern part of the country.
Madam Bintu Abdulai, a participant from Naapagyili, said the training had transformed her understanding of agribusiness management and value addition.
She said, “Before this workshop, I focused mainly on producing raw produce. Now, I understand the importance of processing, packaging and record keeping increasing profits.”
Mr Zakaria Abukari, a BDT member from Tampion, described the training as timely especially for supporting young agripreneurs in rural communities and said, “The incubation skills we have received will help us mentor new businesses and guide cooperatives to operate more professionally.”
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