World Vision and Partners host Two-day National Market Actors Forum in Tamale, aimed at promoting prosperity for all through partnerships

World Vision Ghana and its subsidiary Vision Fund have hosted a National Market Actors Forum alongside an exhibition in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital.

The two-day event under the theme; “partnering for prosperity; strengthening market linkages for all,”brought together over 300 stakeholders within the agriculture value chain from across the country.

The actors were mainly farmers, agro processors, micro finance institutions, policy makers and implementers as well as researchers and other civil society actors who discussed largely, access to credit and markets.

The forum had specific objectives which include facilitating knowledge sharing on successful business models, partnership and value chain upgrading, exploring barriers and creating synergies between public and private sector stakeholders to addressing systemic bottlenecks affecting small holder productivity and profitability, identifying concrete actions and partnerships to enhance scalability and sustainability of inclusive markets intervention among others.

Grounded in the global Transforming Household Resilience In Vulnerable Environment (THRIVE 2030), being implemented by World Vision in 11 countries including Ghana, the project was launched in 2024, targeting ultra-and extreme poor households by helping to move them out of poverty through building local capacities and networks to facilitate market-driven solutions that empower smaller producers, micro-enterprises, women, youth and the marginalized groups to sustainably increase their production, income and profitability for the wellbeing of children.

The National Director of World Vision Ghana, Dr. Mrs. Tinah Tusiime Mukunda in a message read for her, at the formal opening of the forum said the THRIVE project aimed to contribute to households and producer groups capacity and improve resilient and sustainable livelihood for the child’s well-being.

“As you are aware a child cannot thrive in a household that cannot have fair access to economic livelihood and opportunities. Therefore, at World Vision we work to ensure that within every 60 seconds,, a hungry child is fed and a family receives the tools to overcome poverty,” she stated.

World Vision International, is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization that focus on the children, families and communities so that they can reach their full potential towards tackling poverty and injustice. The organization has been operating in Ghana for the past 46 years.

According to the National Director, under World Vision Ghana’s poverty reduction agenda, THRIVE targets about 160,000 households in 14 out of 16 regions by doubling income of 400,000 people over three years.

“Everyone THRIVES believes in partnering for transformation- equipping households with the capacities, connections, and confidence to left households permanently above the poverty line,” she stated.

Dr. Mukunda said her organization’s core values include value people and working in partnership hence added the forum as a call to partnership.

She urged private sector and financial institutions to build models that see rural smallholders as investable producers and for government actors to also create enabling policy environment that prioritizes small-holder market access rural infrastructure, agricultural insurance and fair pricing protections.

“To development partners; alignment over duplication; shared frameworks, coordinated advocacy and building on what communities have already built,” she said adding ‘Our dear producers and famers, we will stand with you and we commit to building systems that work for you and with you, not around you,” Dr. Mukunda reechoed.

The Northern Regional Minister, Adolf Ali John in an address read for him, welcomed the THRVE Project and the market actors’ forum describing it as timely and strategic; “It is an economic empowerment initiative designed to strengthen resilient livelihoods, inclusive market systems and sustainable household income – with a particular focus on smallholder producers, women youth and vulnerable populations across Ghana, was also strategic.

The minister explained, the platform sought to help address gaps while strengthening linkages which in the past has been hampered by stakeholders working in silos.

Adolf Ali said government on its part was prioritizing steps to making things work for the benefit of rural people whose livelihoods are tied to farming and agro-processing.

The forum enabled various actors such as Esoko, the Ghana Enterprise Agency, the Ghana Commodity Exchange, the Ministry of Trade and Agribuisness, the 24 Hour Economy secretariat among others to share their with participants, activities within their spaces and opportunities that can be harnessed by the SMMEs and Small-holder farmers.

Story By :Nelson Adanuti Nyadror I www.diamondfmonline.com |Ghana.