The 2nd Poultry Value Chain Fair (POVAC), under the theme ‘Employment Creation along the Poultry Value Chain: Public Private Partnership Approach’, is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd March 2018 at the Eusbett Hotel, Sunyani.
This year’s Fair, under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, is a two-day event designed to feature presentations, exhibitions, seminars, business to business meetings and a food bazaar.
In a press release issued this week, the organisers revealed that over 60 exhibitors including Silver Star Towers, Francis Cold Storage, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, SGS, MADCO, Jokas Farms, Glofet, Akate Farms, Esoko, Big Stars and Agricore have already completed initial registration for participation: “and that is encouraging,” the release stated, and went on to say that they are expecting more registrations and commitments in the coming week “because the response so far has been positive”.
According to the organisers, this year the event is expected to bring over 800 actors from across the agricultural value chain – especially the Poultry Value Chain (PVC), government officials, development partners and financial institutions among others. Furthermore, arrangements have been concluded to have international exhibitors and participants on board. There have also been a number of sponsors including Pak Agro, Thermo King and Frankatson for the event.
The organisers of the event, Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Assist Management in Poultry Layer Industry by Feed Improvement and Efficiency Strategy (AMPLIFIES) and Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), in partnership with Agrihouse Foundation, further said in the release that the event is intended to bring poultry sector value chain representatives together under one umbrella “to promote exchange of ideas, forge sustainable business partnerships, and promote best practices to grow poultry in Ghana”.
The maiden edition of the event was held in March 2017 through a similar partnership between GPP, GNAPF and AMPLIFIES. However, this year the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is said to be coming on board to give the event an expansive dimension as well as boost its recognition.
The press release further noted that: “The POVAC event seeks to create sustainable market linkages between the PVC actors at both the supply and demand ends, while providing poultry farmers with access to cheaper, better-quality and more reliable sources of inputs to reduce cost of production. The event brings together over 800 farmers and industry players; creating a great platform for business discussions and potential contracting”.
The organisers, through the Fair, hope to initiate discussions with all stakeholders to find avenues for making the fair more sustainable.
Also, key to the organisers’ motivation is a vision to see the poultry sector reach heights where it can meet demands of the market through provision of quality products.
There will be a daily food bazaar that showcases the various dishes prepared from poultry-meat and eggs for sampling.
This is the second edition, and the PVCF has already established itself as a new market where participants sell their products, have a direct supply of poultry products at relatively cheaper price as well as an enhanced network environment for business discussions.
GPP and AMPLIFIES are both five-year projects funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of its Food for Progress Programme (FFPr). Their aim is to improve competitiveness of the domestic production and processing of poultry meat and eggs, as well as feed formulation.
While assuring all prospective exhibitors of maximum value for their participation, the organisers’ explained that the theme for this year, ‘Employment Creation along the Poultry Value Chain: The Public Private Partnership Approach’, was strategically chosen in order to highlight the value of private and public sector collaboration in strengthening commercialisation of the poultry industry, resulting in job-creation. “We are happy with the response the event is receiving already.”
