GhanaVeg Update

Joep van den BroekProgram Leader

GhanaVeg

• GhanaVeg: to support the private sector in further investing in and innovating Ghana’s vegetable sector.

• Our motto is ‘Healthy and quality vegetables from Ghana through new ways of doing business’.

• The GhanaVeg Business Platform aims to be:– The meeting place for Ghana’s vegetable sector– Setting the agenda for future investments – Preparing strategy and market studies – Driving the public-private dialogue for the vegetable sector.

GhanaVeg focal areas

– High-value domestic market and exports– Commercial vegetable crops: tomato, chili peppers,

bell peppers, onions, Asian vegetables, eggplant, cucumber, squash, melons and spices.

– Private sector: entire chain from input supply to retail and from logistics to private extension.

– At farm level the project focuses on: the commercial smallholder farmer, the small investor farmers as well as large-scale farming (with outgrowers).

– 2014-2017 period

Structure and activity framework

GhanaVeg Business Platform

Business to BusinessActivities

Business Opportunities

Fund

R&D Innovation

Fund

Consultancy Fund

Public-Private Dialogue

GhanaVeg Secretariat

Consultancy Fund

• Provides studies for business opportunities and bottlenecks in the business climate

• Results are: Business cases and recommendations for the Public-Private Dialogue

• The Public-Private Dialogue aims to address major issues in the investment climate and horticulture regulations

• Additional support activities could be developed for:– Phytosanitary issues– Pesticides reduction– Statistics on vegetable sector

Business Opportunities Fund

• To support new entrants and frontrunner companies in the vegetables sector

• Organized around thematic calls for proposals based on selected key sector bottlenecks

• Open for Ghanaian and foreign companies• Modality: 50% co-financing, maximum of

€50.000 grant per activity• Independent selection committee assesses

proposals

R&D Innovation Fund

• Aim is to improve the innovation capacity of the sector• By creating collaboration between the private sector and

Ghana’s research institutes• On-site research can be supported for e.g. variety and

fertilizer trials, new irrigation technology or greenhouse designs

• The fund is organized around specific Calls for Proposals• 50% Co-financing, max. €25.000 grant per activity• Agronomic backstopping and upscaling through

Wageningen UR

Call Cycles• Calls are issued every quarter• Four rounds of calls for proposals so far concluded– May 5, 2014– July 7, 2014– September 1, 2014– December 1, 2014

• New procedures implemeted – Intake meetings– Call quality improvements

Call Outcomes• First Call (Chain Integration, Seed Industry, Input Supply)

– 11 applications– 5 shortlisted– 2 awarded (Tikola in Seed Industry, ETL in Chain Integration)

• Second Call (extended for IS and SI)– 4 applications– 3 shortlisted– 2 awarded (Dizengoff in Input Supply, Wienco in Seed Industry)

• Third Call (CI, PC, IS)– 15 applications– 6 shortlisted– 3 awarded (ACSL in Input Supply, Joekopan and 3As in Chain Integration)

• Fourth Call just ended on Dec 1.

Thank you

joep.vandenbroek@wur.nl