The Executive Chair of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, has called on stakeholders in Ghana’s agrifood industry to place the well-being of people at the centre of their operations rather than chasing profits, describing human capital as the most critical asset in the agricultural value chain.
Ms. Akosa delivered the message in a keynote address at the 8th edition of the annual Gathering of the Royals, held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra. The event was held under the theme: “Seeds of Change: From Leadership to Legacy, Women Transforming the Agrifood System.”
“Today, we must all leave here knowing that we are changemakers and as changemakers, let’s value people over profits, very important; let’s make good use of the resources that we have,” she told participants gathered from across Ghana’s sixteen regions.
Her remarks framed people not as a cost to be managed but as assets that, when properly invested in, become the engine of transformation in the sector.
Ms. Akosa gave particular emphasis to the role of women, describing them as the architects of change within agricultural communities. “It takes a woman to transform our communities, our regions and our nations,” she said, adding that women are the seeds of change whose contributions to the agrifood value chain cannot be reduced to a financial calculation.
She also marked the eight-year journey of the Gathering of the Royals, tracing its growth from its origins in the Volta Region through the Ashanti, Upper East, Upper West and Eastern regions before evolving into the centralised national platform it is today. To date, the initiative has reached over 3,700 women, including queen mothers from communities across the country.
The 2026 edition moved beyond dialogue toward direct intervention, with selected queen mothers from all sixteen regions receiving day-old chicks and associated inputs as part of a community-level poultry agribusiness initiative fulfilling the 2025 Call to Action commitment.
The event was attended by over 650 queen mothers, policymakers, agribusiness leaders, and development partners. Chief Patron Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings led the Call to Action session, which also featured the launch of a Tomato Production Initiative aimed at reducing dependence on produce traded through dangerous cross-border routes.
