The Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) has intensified efforts to enhance the entrepreneurial and marketing skills of farmers to boost their livelihoods and economic fortunes.
The initiative, which was through a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop, formed part of the implementation of Sahelian Landscapes: A Land of Opportunities – “Widen Proven Furrows” (LOGMe II) project. The training brought together lead farmers drawn from the project communities in the Jirapa and Sissala East Municipalities to equip them with skills in agribusiness, financial inclusion, and market access.
Speaking at the training, Dr. Iddrisu Yahaya, an Agricultural Economist at the Wa Office of the CSIR-SARI, indicated that the project targeted women and youth, who faced structural constraints such as limited access to land.
He, therefore, explained that beyond improving farm productivity, the project sought to build the entrepreneurial skills of the beneficiaries to enable them seize opportunities in the agricultural value chain.
“As part of the entrepreneurship, we are training the farmers on how to take farming as a business, and financial inclusion mechanisms such as Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), where they can be able to access funds for farming and other activities,” Dr. Yahaya added.
Dr. Abdul Jelil Abukari, a lecturer at Tamale Technical University, who trained the farmers on marketing, underscored the importance of building customer relations in sustaining businesses.
“Marketing is no longer the way it used to be, purely transactional, this time it’s about creating relationships for a long-term sustainability of the customers,” he explained.
He encouraged the farmers to form cooperatives to enhance their bargaining power and improve market access.
Dr. Abukari further urged participants to leverage digital platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok to promote their produce and reach wider markets.
Dr. Bashiru Haruna, a Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI, who took the participants through entrepreneurship and record-keeping, encouraged farmers to see farming as a business, not merely as a means of survival.
Source: GNA
