Agrihouse Foundation in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture – Ghana Poultry Project (USDA-GPP), is set to launch the third edition of the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries (LiPF) Tradeshow on March 2, 2021.

The main event of the tradeshow which is a two-day training and exhibition event is slated to happen on May 21 – May 22, 2021, in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winner’s Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG).

According to the Executive Director of Agrihouse, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the third edition of the LiPF Tradeshow would provide a learning environment to explore deeper ways of taking advantage of opportunities in the animal sector with participants including livestock, poultry, and fish farmers and exhibitors, tertiary and financial institutions, agriculture and media organizations, and development partners.

Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa intimated that the LiPF Tradeshow has come at an opportune time to inform and educate participants about alternative means to create jobs and make additional income, especially, in the livestock sector, since many people in the country have now lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“LiPF is a relevant intervention as it seeks to build resilience and confidence in individuals who have lost their source of income and are looking for alternate means in these times. It is also here to encourage people who are passionate and interested in the animal sector, to let them see the multiple opportunities they can take advantage of. Even with the government and the private sector interventions, the animal sector still has several areas of opportunities that have not been tapped into. These are the areas we are aiming to highlight this year.”
Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa

The Chief of Party of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Ms. Carianne De Boer, on her part, noted that development partners and agri-stakeholders must ensure that the public and donor investor policies truly reflect the resilient and prosperous future being envisioned for the agricultural sector. She charged policy maker to take a fresh look at the youth in agriculture programmes and consider more robust approaches to enabling the youth to gain access to knowledge, finance, assets, and modern technology.

She added that to engage and empower young people in agriculture, the sector must address young people’s aspirations and expectations, stating that young people are very interested in modernized approaches to agriculture, where they can utilize their mobile phones, new techniques, and computers to manage their poultry farms.

About the LiPF Tradeshow

LiPF Tradeshow is an event organized annually to bring together hundreds of individuals, groups, and businesses within the animal value chain to showcase and promote their products and services, while training and building the capacity of individuals who want to venture into the livestock business.

The maiden edition of the LiPF Tradeshow was held in 2019 alongside the 7th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture (AACAA), with about one thousand participants from Ghana and other countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, amongst others. Exhibitors included livestock, poultry, and fisheries-based companies like Jubaili, Ghana Poultry Project, Agricare, Tilly farms, Big Stars and many more

The second edition of LiPF was held at the Efua Sutherland Children’s park last year, with about 785 participants in attendance over the two days. The second edition focused on training sessions in animal agriculture, equipping participants to step up their ideas and interest in going into animal agriculture. The training, therefore, equipped participants with basic and intermediary knowledge required for poultry, piggery, snail production, mushroom production, cattle rearing, small ruminants (sheep, goats, rabbit) rearing.

This year, the launch will outline key strategies and activities that will make up the third edition of the event which is being planned in collaboration with knowledgeable stakeholders from agro-institutions and farmer-based organizations including NBSSI, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), NFFWAG, USDA-GPP, Fisheries Commission, and Animal Production Directorate.