By Edward Acquah
Accra, Oct. 18, GNA- The SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is to establish Business Transformation Laboratories (BTLs) to broker investment support to land-based investors in the Agriculture and forestry value chains.
The initiative, which is among the deliverables of the Transformative Land Investment (TLI) project, seeks to ensure that land-based investors in Agriculture and Forestry develop and implement effective business and financing models as well as partnerships.
As part of the project implementation, the TLI project team convened a workshop in Accra to seek contributions from experts towards the development of the strategies and modalities for the implementation of the BTL concept.
The TLI is a Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) project, with the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Centre for People and Forests (RECOFTC), Land Equity International (LEI) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) as implementing partners.
Dr Divine Odame Appiah, Multi-Country Project Manager for SNV’s TLI Project, said the Project sought to, among others, address investors’ need for independent technical backstopping, partnership identification, development and brokering of support.
He said the Business Transformation Laboratories would create a one-stop shop for businesses and other players in the land-based sector to obtain tailor-made solutions based on their needs identified and help them to be transformative and responsible in their investments, while integrating agroecological ecological practices.
Dr Appiah said the initiative would also help land-based investors to improve their financial capability and also ensure sustainable environmental and social performance and innovation.
“This will help land-based investors to promote their own economic performance and long-term commercial viability,” Dr Appiah said.
During the meeting, the experts recommended to the project team to conduct feasibility studies in addition to the needs assessment to help identify the appropriate locations for the laboratories.
They also urged the team to engage existing business support providers across the country to avoid duplication of efforts and collaborate with state agencies such as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to identify gaps in the sector.
Dr Alexander Tetteh Kwasi Nuer, Senior Lecturer, University of Cape Coast, urged the team to develop an exit strategy from the onset of the project and identify key stakeholders to support the sustainability of the laboratories.
“The exit strategy should be done now so that by the time the project is ending they can create ownership for the project and sustain it,” he said.
Dr Stanislaus Adiaba, Land Economist and Land Administration Expert, said land identification, acquisition, and post-acquisition management were major challenges for land-based investors.
He said establishment of the business laboratories would help to render services for the identification of suitable lands for prospective land-based investors to safeguard their investments.
GNA