Agromovil Strengthening the Agricultural Value Chain in Ghana with KNUST, Guinness, and USDA
Agromovil to collaborate with USDA and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on innovative pilot with Guinness farmers in Ghana.
Washington, D.C., March 11th, 2022 – Agromovil, KNUST, and Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC announce the signing of an MOU as the first step of joint work to connect farmers to the Guinness supply chain through Agromovil technology. Agromovil and KNUST are working together as part of a United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) funded activity to help farmers be more trade-enabled and food secure.
The collaboration among Guinness Ghana, KNUST, and Agromovil will improve market access for Ghanaian small farmers while increasing visibility throughout the chain of aggregators and small farmers who provide Guinness with local raw materials such as sorghum, millet, maize, and cassava.
The initial effort will target 500 farmers – 50% women – and will leverage the field experience and training capacity of KNUST, as well as Agromovil’s proven technology and experience gained working in Colombia and in Tanzania, where Agromovil has partnered with USDA and the 40,000-member Tanzanian Horticultural Association.
“We are excited to work with such great organizations to improve the value chain for small farmers in Ghana. With Agromovil’s simple-to-use platform, Ghanaian farmers can put themselves on the data map – earning more money and reducing waste – and Guinness Ghana can stay connected to the field in real time,” said Agromovil Founder and CEO, Andrew Mack.
Stephen Ghansah, Agribusiness Development Lead at Guinness Ghana, will help identify the pilot group from among Guinness’ roughly 30,000 suppliers. “Guinness is constantly looking for new ways to get closer to our small farmers and grow sustainably. We know that technology at the edge can help make life better for the farmers and help us better reach women farmers and youth.”
Prof. Paul Sarfo-Mensah will lead KNUST’s efforts to provide coordinated support for training and activity monitoring, including local language assistance, while Harold Tarver, Agricultural Development Advisor at USDA, will coordinate the various piloting activities between the participating organizations. “USDA is glad to be supporting KNUST and Agromovil, and happy to see the collaboration to grow to include Guinness. USDA is eager to see the growth in agricultural trade and increased producer incomes the Agromovil app will generate. The digital exchange the app facilitates meets a critical data and market information need for farmers and processors. Finally, USDA appreciates how the Agromovil app promotes climate smart agriculture: from the climate mitigation perspective, the app improves value chain efficiency by streamlining sales and purchases in a way that facilitates transportation and reduces post-harvest losses – thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and, from the climate adaptation perspective, the app can push out localized information to farmers including climate smart agricultural practices and local weather forecasts.”
About Agromovil
Agromovil builds software to connect farmers with markets and create insights that help companies and co-ops plan, manage risk, and track impact. For more information and the Agromovil story, see www.agromovil.co.
About KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology)
KNUST is one of the leading science and technology universities in West Africa and has a thriving College of Agriculture & Natural Resources. KNUST offers tertiary education, training, and research in agriculture and rural and entrepreneurial development. For more information, see https://www.knust.edu.gh/.
About Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC
Guinness Ghana is the leading total beverage business in the country and has a long history of promoting sustainable agriculture and sourcing local raw materials. Guinness Ghana is committed to helping local individuals, businesses, and communities thrive. For more information, see https://www.diageo.com/en/our-business/where-we-operate/africa/guinness-ghana-breweries-plc/.
About USDA FAS
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) links U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security. FAS leads USDA’s efforts to help developing countries improve their agricultural systems and build their trade capacity. This helps countries be more food secure and resilient. For more information, see https://www.fas.usda.gov/.