A commercial rice farmer, Fred Kukubor has advocated for commercial agribusiness in Ghana in order to meet the food needs of the country.
According to him, commercialisation drives market and investment, adding the ‘old system of farming’ is the reason the country is unable to meet the demand for its foods needs.
“We’re unable to meet our food needs and requirements as a country largely because of our small-holder nature system but commercialisation is the way to go if we really mean business as a country or as an agribusiness company.”
“If you want to commercial, you can start with minimum 20 acres and gradually expand. An acre needs an investment of GHC3,000 to GHC5,000.”
While suggesting ways farmers in Ghana can enjoy the fruit of their labour, he reiterated that they should “strive towards excellence, strive to deploy mechanisation, deploy technology, do well to produce your scale depending on the crop. The old system or way hasn’t proven to be worth it in terms of investment of money, time and energy.”
Mr. Kukubor who is the Chief Executive Officer of Farmer Globale told the host of the Ghanaian Farmer TV Show, Enyonam Manye why he left his job for farming.
The former Cocoa Plan Manager of Nestle West and Central Africa disclosed that he received the exposure to the commercial side of agriculture that he required while working with the company as well as development partners. He is also former staff of Solidaridad, Ghana.
He currently owns 500 acre rice farm in Adidome in the Volta Region.
“Working with the development sector, moving on to the multi-nationals also gave me a major exposure because I got to understand business development, business intelligence and the food value chain. I had a blend of commodity expertise, the tree crops, the veggies, and the cereals or grains so when I was ready to start my own agribusiness, it was really about where do we start from,” he explained.
Why Mr. Kukubor Chose Rice Over Other Crops
While elaborating his reasons for rice production, he told Enyonam that it is one of the untapped money-making aspects of farming in Ghana. For him it was basically about which commodity value chain gives you the value for money.
“I’m more known as a cocoa expert but I decided to into rice which came as a surprise to those who know me but it’s all about business; I’ve had the exposure, the intelligence and looking forward to a low-hanging fruit and rice is short-term investment.”
The CEO of Farmer Globale explained how his experience at Nestle influenced his choice of crop and advised that agronomists should also be ready to invest in areas outside their expertise.
“Within Nestle, I also worked with a team. While I was the Cocoa plan manager, we also had the cereal plan manager, coffee plan manager; they have different commodity needs so we always meet together as a team so within the value chain, I have had that exposure from there and I realised that it’s not all about cocoa,” Mr. Fred Kukubor stated.
“As an agronomist, you could actually venture into a different commodity value chain, once you have the fundamentals in terms of the technical-know-how. So I picked up the rice because I know it’s a short term crop.”
Aside from that, “it’s also a major staple within our food consumption range. Every home, every restaurant consumes rice. So if you’re looking for an avenue as far as agribusiness is concerned, you need to look at the consumables. Which commodities people cannot do without? Including maize, soya beans.”
He is on a mission to contribute his quota to closing the nearly $2.5 million annual rice import gab in Ghana.
“The current government really pushed the rice agenda forward. They made mention clearly that they’re going to facilitate local production and consumption of rice. For us, that an avenue to explore. We estimate that at least, we will have 1 percent or maximum 3 per cent share of import the market value. So that was factor for us.”
He however, advised agriculture enthusiasts that agriculture is not a quick money business it requires a lot of commitment.
“Farming requires lots of patience, excellence and discipline. If you lack these, you will not realise the return on your investment,” he said.
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