The Company is also spporting in the area of technical assistance valued between GHC20,000 to GH25,000. Mr Haidar Malhas, the Irrigation Services Manager, Interplast said the Company decided to support the event, because it believed the agricultural sector needed technology to boost production.

The 8th edition of the annual Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference is scheduled to take place at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale between October 3 and 5, 2018.

The Exhibition and Conference is a business forum and an interventional platform that provides opportunities for various value chain actors in the agriculture sector to meet, discuss business, contracts and work together as a coherent team whose goal is to ensure that enough produce is available locally for consumption thereby drastically reducing importation.

He said the fact that farmers have limited options in selecting irrigation facilities has limited their adoption of irrigation technologies in the country. He said the irrigation market in the country was still developing, hence, the Company's tailored solution and interventions.

"We are supporting the event to introduce our new irrigation material to famers and stakeholders and to educate them on its importance," he said. He said farmers’ limited know-how has not encouraged them to adopt irrigation technologies to improve on their yields.

"It is food enough if they plant to feed their families but if they want to venture into commercial agriculture, advanced technology is needed to increase their productions," he added.

 On her part, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, organizers of the event, Alberta Nana Akyea Akosa said, the 8th edition of the event was expected to see an even bigger participation as more and more famers, farmer groups and businesses in the sector have expressed interest in participating.

 She said this year’s edition has attracted a lot of inputs from private sector and international organizations, which would make it an exciting experience. "We expect a much larger number of participating exhibitors and conference attendees this year, judging from the early signals we are picking up," she said.

The Executive Director said “Agribusiness is the way to go in poverty reduction and national development. “I am elated and grateful to the various institutions that have seen wisdom in this idea and have supported it over the years."

She called on other well-meaning organizations to come forward to lend a helping hands so that together they could build a stronger agriculture sector and a bigger national economy led by agriculture.