Minister Akoto, accompanied by his wife and representatives of the Ghanaian Ministry of Agriculture, arrived in Prague in the afternoon on April 7, 2018 together with representatives of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Cudjoe Abimash Engineering Services Ltd., Plantation Resources Ltd., Sapholda Ventures Ltd., GAPL, and Daily Graphic journalists (Graphic Communications Group Ltd.). Due to the delayed arrival of the Minister, the program prepared for the first day of the visit was no longer to be carried out, including a tour of the Breeding Cooperative IMPULS in Bohdalec, where insemination opportunities were to be presented for the production of quality slaughter and dairy cattle in Ghana. The delegation only moved from Prague to Brno to visit the TECHAGRO 2018 exhibition.

On Sunday, April 8, Minister Akoto opened a business breakfast with the Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jiří Milek.  Both ministers discussed the current state of agriculture and the possibilities of cooperation. Minister Akoto spoke of the plans of the Government of Ghana contained in the so-called Manifesto, where one of the priorities is the development of agriculture. He expressed the conviction that his visit would bring positive results in the field of agricultural mechanization. Minister Milek said that his ministry is ready to cooperate in a number of sectors. In conclusion, Minister Akoto invited Minister Milek to take a reciprocal visit to Ghana.

The business program of Minister Akoto continued with participation in the Czech-Ghana Agri-Food Business Forum, which was organized in order to present the successful achievements of cooperation between companies from Ghana and the Czech Republic and at the same time to present Ghanaian agriculture in terms of its possibilities, needs and opportunities for potential Czech exporters and investors.

In addition to the Ghana delegation, the forums were attended by representatives of AGROSERVIS PAVEL ŠÁLEK s.r.o., BAUER TECHNICS, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, the Czech Export Bank, the Czech-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, journalists and other invited guests. The Minister together with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ghana, Mrs. Margita Fuchsová and the Ambassador of Ghana to the Czech Republic, Mrs. Virginia Hesse, launched the forum.

In his opening speech, Minister Akoto praised 60 years of cooperation in agriculture, where the Czech brand "ZETOR" is synonymous with the tractor for Ghanaians. On the contrary, he regretted that these visit of the Minister of Agriculture followed 20 years since the last visit by the Minister of Agriculture Ghana to the Czech Republic. In the next part of the speech, he presented the following possibilities for Czech investors:

• Poultry meat production - Ghana annually imports poultry meat for more than 350 million euros, mainly from China and the US. The Minister urged investment in poultry meat production, eggs, but also to import quality feed.
• Mechanization of agriculture - Ghana strives for self-sufficiency in the production of rice and maize, and requires cultivating a lot of agricultural land to do so. The necessary mechanization is being sought both in the Czech Republic and in India and Brazil – it is necessary to respond as quickly as possible. The Ministry of Agriculture of Ghana has prepared a grant program for small farmers and agricultural communities to make machinery available to as many farmers as possible.
• Investment in agricultural land - Ghana lists only 12% of cultivated agricultural land from the total land fund. In addition to the above-mentioned mechanization, it also needs a high-quality fertilizer, irrigation technology, and for storage of the harvested crops, dryers and silos are needed.

Ambassador of Czech Republic to Ghana, H.E. Fuchsová briefed delegates on the current favorable economic developments in Ghana and briefly mentioned the two main programs of the current government: "One district, one factory" and "Planting for food and jobs". She has called on Czech companies to seize opportunities in Ghana, being the gateway to the markets of West African countries, where the Free Goods Agreement within ECOWAS was recently signed, allowing a foreign investor in Ghana to sell up to 75% of the produced goods to the surrounding markets. She also welcomed representatives of the Vlčnov village, which was visited in 1963 by the first Minister of Agriculture of Ghana.

The Ambassador of Ghana to the Czech Republic, H.E. Hesse then drew attention to investment institutions that help foreign investors enter the Ghana market. These include the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the Free Zone Board, and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority. It also mentioned ongoing negotiations to sign the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministries of Industry and Trade of the two countries. A representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Tereza Černá, who presented the main trends and products of Czech agriculture to Ghanaian entrepreneurs and presented some possibilities for a mutual cooperation, continued the Business Forum.

The opening block of the forum ended with the appearance of the President of the Czech-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Michael Kublenu, who mentioned that the Chamber is ready to help Czech exporters with consultancy, marketing and consultancy services when entering the Ghana market.

The culmination of this forum was the signing of an Agreement on the purchase of agricultural machinery between the Ghanaian Ministry of Agriculture and Knights a.s., represented by Dr.Karl Larya. This is the purchase of hundreds of small tractors and accessories from AGROSERVIS PAVEL ŠÁLEK s.r.o. and VARI, a.s. A contract worth 20 million euros, which is linked to the supply of tractors from 2005-2007 and 2010-2016, is the next step of Ghana's agriculture minister to bring agricultural technology from the Czech Republic in the amount of up to 200 million euros.

After the Business Forum, Minister Akoto attended a business lunch with representatives of Mendel University, where more than 300 students from Ghana are currently studying. Vice-Chancellor Samuel Antwi Darkwah, Ph.D., Dean doc.Ing.Pavel Žufan, Ph.D and Dean Ing.Jiri Schneider, Ph.D. and Vice-Dean Ing.Daniel Falta, Ph.D. presented their experiences with the teaching of Ghana students, pointed out the disproportion between the interest of other students in study in the Czech Republic and the capacity of the visa section of the Czech Embassy in Akkra.  They were interested in the chances for Ghanaian graduates to get a job after returning to Ghana. Minister Akoto has appreciated the efforts made by Mendel University's representatives to educate agricultural students because agriculture experts are urgently needed in Ghana, to restructure the entire economic sector.

The afternoon program of Minister Akoto, together with Minister Milek, was dedicated to the visit of TECHAGRO and a visit to selected expositions. Minister Akoto was particularly interested in agricultural technology and the latest technologies dedicated to soil cultivation. The tour of the fair was completed by attending the award ceremony of the best exhibitors and the evening banquet for all participants.

The program on Monday April 9, 2018 started by visiting a wheat flourmill at Prokop Technology s.r.o. The visit was prepared to show wheat grain processing technology that could be used in Ghana to produce packaged rice.

The next item on agenda was a visit of AGROSERVIS PAVEL ŠÁLEK s.r.o., which will supply the tractors Cabrio Compact and Agromehanika under the contract signed the previous day. The Minister was interested in the production quality control, supplying accessories and spare parts, and also in warranty and after sale service in Ghana. Then he also tried riding on both tractors.

Unfortunately, the afternoon program of the Minister complicated the traffic situation in the neighborhood Brno, which did not allow the inspection of the reference plant of BAUER TECHNICS a.s. for the production of poultry meat. This company together with Knights a.s. is working on a pilot project for the production and processing of poultry meat in Ghana, which Minister of Agriculture Akoto has an eminent interest. In the case of a successful project implementation, more than 800 jobs would be created.

The Monday program ended with a meeting with students and graduates of Mendel University in Brno. Minister Akoto presented to students the following intentions of the Ghana Ministry of Agriculture for the near term:

• Improve productivity - Minister pointed out that Ghana is undergoing a period of industrialization, needs to diversify agricultural production, and prepares subsidies for small farmers.
• Use high-quality seed – Minister informed that in Ghana there are much better seeds of corn with five times higher fertility compared to existing seeds, but farmers continue to use "unfavorable" seed.
• Use subsidy programs – Minister stressed that the current government supports farming mechanization through a subsidy program up to 50% of the cost of purchasing the necessary mechanization and the remaining 50% can be paid out of the profit for the harvest.
• Promote agricultural production in all areas of the country - Minister informed about the employment of more than 2,500 agricultural consultants in the branches of the Ministry of Agriculture in all areas of the country to help local farmers reach subsidies, loans, rents and solve their problems and requirements.
• Improve infrastructure – Minister presented the government's intention to invest $ 100 million in land infrastructure to provide better access to agricultural production centers
• Plant agricultural area with other crops – Minister said that next year, the government wants to plant gumtree, Shea nut and other crops on the same area that is now planted with cocoa trees to diversify agricultural production

Finally, the minister encouraged students to join the above activities after returning from their studies, to create an educated business class in the agricultural sector, to apply their knowledge and to help them apply the new technologies they learned during their studies. Followed more than hour discussion about the problems of students during their studies and in finding employment upon return.

At night, the delegation attended a free program by visiting wine cellar in Pavlov.

On Tuesday, April 10, 2018, the delegation together with entrepreneurs went through a return trip. In the morning, a tour was organized and a short presentation at VVS VERMĚŘOVICE s.r.o., a traditional Czech producer of mineral feed mixtures and premixes for feeding cattle, cloven-hoofed game, horses and pets. Minister Akoto was mainly interested in the question of the production of compound feed for poultry and the possibility of producing compound feed directly in Ghana. Further talks on this issue takes place in Ghana at the Department of Agriculture.

The next visit was at company Vari, a.s. which will supply uniaxial tractors and accessories within the aforementioned signed contract. The Minister, together with the whole delegation, went through a tour of the entire production complex and, like at Agroservis Šálek, he was mainly interested in warranty and after sale service, supply of spare parts and training.

For Minister and his delegation, Vari organized a brief demonstration of their products and related accessories, including a demonstration of work with these devices. The Minister appreciated the ease of handling this technique and outlined the intention to produce these small-scale tractors directly in Ghana, in the first phase in the form of semi-knocked down mode (SKD) and using their own resources in the future. This intention will be discussed further with representatives of the Czech Export Bank, which should finance the whole project.

The program of this mission was concluded by a reception hosted by Ghana's Ambassador in Prague Mrs. Virginia Hesse at her residence, where the entire mission was evaluated, a participation of representatives of the Czech Embassy in Ghana was appreciated and objectives and targets for the next period were established. Minister Akoto warmly thanked for organizing such mission and assured him that it was only the beginning of extensive mutual co-operation.

 Due to the signed contract in millions of euros, the intention of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ghana to increase the supply of agricultural equipment of up to 200 mil. euros, due to other unfinished agricultural projects we can clearly say that the mission served its purpose and is necessary in similar events to continue and even for other sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

Tomáš Zázvorka, Commercial Counselor, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Accra