As part of the Citi Business Festival’s on-air series, the Citi Breakfast Show hosted agribusiness specialist Kwasi Korboe who spoke on how to harness the agriculture value chain to reap maximum benefits.
Here is his presentation distilled into five key points.
- Understand the value chain
“The value chain constructs the whole activity around a certain commodity.”
Kwasi Korboe stressed the need for farmers to understand the agriculture value chain; focusing on understanding the market, costing research, transportation, among others, to take clearer steps towards success and wealth creation.
- Explore value addition holistically
“People say you have always got to add value. Value addition comes in so many ways.”
He notes that farmers can add value to their products on multiple levels in the food sector. He urged farmers to consider the aesthetics, of the product, sweetness and even size.
- Don’t rush into infrastructure
“You don’t buy equipment that you use once and it sits there. You would go bankrupt.”
Kwasi Korboe urged farmers to buy equipment and expand infrastructure depending on the scale of operations. Don’t buy equipment that you won’t use or you’ll rarely use, he advised.
- Produce to meet global standards
“You have got to meet standards and consumers now demand what is best.”
The specialist advised farmers to strive for excellence throughout the value chain so as to stand a chance on the global market. Value addition and consistency are key in this regard, he advised.
- Prepare to invest
Kwasi Korboe reminded farmers that they also need to invest in their ventures if they hope to reap the fruits of their labour.