The CEO of Agri-Impact has called out the repetitive piloting of agribusiness projects in Ghana, labeling it a serious obstacle to sector growth. He argued that the country has become a graveyard of unscaled pilot programs funded by donors and government, with little to no long-term impact. His remarks challenge policymakers and development partners to shift focus from “trying” to “doing” — urging real investment in scaling proven solutions instead of recycling short-lived experiments.
Addressing stakeholders at the National Agribusiness Dialogue, Mr. Acquaye challenged the sector’s continued reliance on pilot initiatives, describing it as a major barrier to progress and industrial transformation.
“When we want to enter agribusiness, the first thing that is talked about is, ‘Let us pilot.’ But the question is: pilot what exactly?” Mr. Acquaye asked, expressing frustration with what he sees as a counterproductive cycle of experimentation.
He argued that Ghana has accumulated decades of research, field trials, and practical case studies, which should be sufficient to inform confident and widespread implementation. “We have done so many pilots from the time that some of us were not born. Don’t we have enough evidence to prove that these are pilots?” he said.
According to Mr. Acquaye, this overdependence on pilots often delays real progress and causes Ghana’s agribusiness sector to fall behind global trends and innovations.
“The little that we know, let us scale them,” he urged. “It is better than going back five years to renew the research and pilot them again. By the time we are done with the piloting, industries have moved beyond the findings of the pilot and we have to pilot again.”
He called on stakeholders, governments, investors, researchers, and development agencies to prioritize the upscaling of already tested and successful agribusiness models.
Doing so, he said, would foster inclusive economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen value chains across Ghana’s agriculture sector.
The National Agribusiness Dialogue forms part of a broader effort to reposition agriculture as a driver of industrialization, particularly under Ghana’s medium-term development framework and food systems resilience initiatives.
Stakeholders emphasized the need for innovation, access to finance, and policy reforms to enable agribusinesses to thrive at scale.
