Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Group, Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has outlined how decades of work in medicinal plants, greenhouse farming and youth-focused agricultural programmes have positioned the company as one of Africa’s leading agribusiness innovators.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Acquaye stated that his journey began with a strong push to commercialise medicinal plants, a passion that earned him a nickname in academic circles.
“At some point I was called the herbalist,” he recalled, noting that he has helped introduce a commercialization course at KNUST and supported research across several African countries.
According to him, Agri-Impact’s early work expanded to Senegal, Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and Mozambique, promoting African plant products and developing essential oil value chains.
One of its most successful initiatives he said was Rwanda’s Ikerizi project, which supported widows to produce essential oils for the global perfumery industry.
Mr. Acquaye also highlighted research on Artemisia—used for producing artesunate—saying, “The active ingredient that we got was higher than all the active ingredients they were getting in East Africa,” after multi-locational trials in Ghana.
The CEO added that Agri-Impact has shifted heavily into advanced greenhouse production through its Fresh Logistics subsidiary, which he says now operates the largest greenhouse project in Ghana.
He recounted a recent success where national service personnel managed a one-hectare net house and “generated over 350,000 Ghana cedis in eight months.”
Mr. Acquaye also revealed Agri-Impact is also implementing a major youth employment partnership with the MasterCard Foundation under the HAPI programme, targeting rice, poultry, soya and tomato value chains.
The initiative focuses on young people aged 18 to 35, with women making up 70% of beneficiaries.
“Women are mostly disadvantaged… so we are very intentional to get the young women to have opportunities in these value chains,” he said.
Mr. Acquaye believes these combined efforts—research, technology, and youth-focused investment—are creating a sustainable path for agricultural transformation across the country.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
