According to him, the country can only see a significant growth in the economy if the small and medium enterprise sector is given the needed support to grow.

Mr Adongo said that in an interview with the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Tamale on the sidelines of a dialogue organised by TechnoServe Ghana in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).

The one day dialogue on mechinasation was aimed at exposing farmers in the country to how they could get easy access to various modern agricultural machineries to improve productivity.

The meeting brought together stakeholders from the academia, investor community, policymakers and farmers across the country to deliberate on how improved methods could help lift the farming business from its present challenges.

It was on the theme: ‘Developing a Home Grown Sustainable Model for Agriculture Mechanisation along the Value Chain.’

Economic growth

Mr Adongo noted that Ghana had achieved significant economic development in the last two decades averaging growth of five per cent a year.  That, he said, had been underpinned by strong export markets for gold, cocoa and recently oil.

“However, while future growth prospects are strong and oil and gas production is expected to increase, the economy is becoming increasingly unbalanced and vulnerable to external shocks,” he added.

According to him, manufacturing in the country is declining and there is a dearth of medium-sized companies, which contributes to the relative lack of productivity and failure to attract investment that marks Ghana out in comparison to its peers.

He said a vast majority of jobs in developing economies were provided by micro and small enterprises and there were good evidence that the growth of young, small firms was driver of economic growth.

“There is a very strong culture of entrepreneurial activity in Ghana as evidenced both by the high prevalence of owner-managed firms and by the high value placed on it as a career choice,” he said.

He indicated that the market had failed to nurture entrepreneurship particularly among start-up, and once a small and medium enterprise had failed to grow in its first few years, it was less likely to do so later.

SME strategic plan

Going forward, the country director indicated that it was crucial for Ghana to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to serve as a blue print for the SME sector.

He also underscored the need for the country to redefine small and medium enterprises to project a new discourse of responsibility, values, ideas and standards.

The definition of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across countries and continents vary.

For instance, in Ghana, the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) defines an SME as a company with a turnover of US$200,000 and above, but not beyond US$5 million.

The Venture Capital Trust Fund Act 2004, Act 680 also defines SMEs as an industry project undertaking or economic activity whose total asset base, excluding land and building, does not exceed the cedi equivalent of US$1 million.

In South Africa, the National Small Business Act (102 of 1996) has a wide definition for SMEs, varying from US$5 million turnover to US$30 million and employing about 200 people.

But within the European Union (EU), it is US$43 million in asset and US$50 million turnovers.

The World Bank, on the other hand, is of the view that SMEs are those that have US$15 million in asset and US$15 million in turnover.

On the average about 90 per cent of all businesses worldwide are SMEs, employing close to 70 per cent of the working population.

Mr Adongo said in Ghana and to a large extent Africa, businesses had their peculiar challenges which included infrastructure, human capital, advisory services, credit, research and many other things.