Agricultural crowdfunding platform Nserewa has set a target of supporting about 2,500 farmers under its farmers’ input support scheme.
Launched in 2021, the Nserewa crowdfunding scheme has supported over 1,200 smallholder farmers across Ghana to produce Rice, Soya and Maize. In addition, the platform enabled the production of an additional 1,000 acres of Maize and Soya respectively on a fully irrigated farming hub in the Savannah Region of Ghana.
The crowdfunding platform offers investors the opportunity to help fight poverty by investing in projects that provide inputs, technical support, mechanisation and offtaker services to smallholder farmers and agricultural start-ups.
Ghana imports over US$2billion worth of food into the country, with food inflation consistently on the rise and ending 2022 at 59.7% according to Ghana Statistical Services. Funding for Ghanaian agribusiness has seen a huge gap, with most businesses struggling to get sustainable funding.
Speaking to the media, Nserewa Team Lead Kojo Akoto Boateng said: “If we want to change the way we produce food in Ghana and ensure our food security, we need to invest heavily in the right support for farmers. Our food mainly comes from smallholder farmers, and it is imperative that we invest in them and build their capacity to grow from subsistence into medium-scale producers to feed the country, grow value chains, protect and create jobs. Nserewa can be one of the tools we use to make an impact and get impactful returns, and we want to give everyone a chance to contribute”.
Sponsors can choose from a number of projects on the platform – www.nserewa.com.gh – and invest from as little as one acre with the potential to earn up to 15% interest per growing cycle, depending on the commodity.
Kojo explained: “Our ultimate goal is to drive national development – and that has many challenges. There are a lot of unemployed youth and women who need the right push to get going. There are those engaged in farming but their yields are nothing to write home about. Our job ensures whole value chains get the oomph to thrive and expand”.
To date, Nserewa has funded 5 main projects in the Upper East, Upper West, North East, Northern, Savannah, Ashanti, Eastern and Volta Regions. These projects have supported over 1,200 smallholder farmers, provided raw material for two main agro-processing firms, and supported four key poultry farms.
One of the key local rice brands that has gained wide acceptance for its quality and affordability, Evivi Rice, is a product churned out of the Nserewa Rice projects done between 2021 and 2022.
