Agribusinesses must invest across entire value chain, not just land and machinery – Gladys Sampson

Agribusinesses must look beyond land, production and machinery and invest across the entire agricultural value chain to achieve sustainable growth, agribusiness professional Gladys Sampson has said.

She said businesses that concentrate their resources on only one part of the value chain risk limiting their ability to achieve their broader objectives.

Madam Sampson was speaking at the Ecobank-Joy Business Financial Dialogue Series on Tuesday, September 22.

The dialogue, held under the theme “Green Finance, Real Impact: Powering Inclusive Agri-Growth in Ghana,” brought together agricultural SMEs, entrepreneurs, regulators and other stakeholders to discuss financing and sustainable growth in the sector.

Madam Sampson said agribusinesses needed to adopt a more integrated approach to investment.

“I always say that when it comes to agribusiness, what you really need to invest to make it grow is not just about looking at what aspects of it, but essentially looking at the entire value chain,” she said.

Drawing on her experience in the sector, she said acquiring land and investing in products or industrial machinery were important but insufficient on their own.

“To make the business grow you need to look at the entire value chain. Not just investing in, as I said earlier, land and industrial machinery, but look at how you can integrate the value chain to ensure that the business is growing.”

She cautioned that putting too much emphasis on a single component could leave businesses operating in isolation and make it difficult to achieve their wider goals.

“Investing in one aspect of it will make [you] more isolated and you will not be able to achieve what you are looking at,” she said.

Madam Sampson also identified research as an area that requires greater investment within the agricultural sector.

She said businesses often concentrate on production and inputs while overlooking the contribution of researchers to developing new solutions and improving productivity.

“Because from my experience, looking at just the production or inputs, what about research?”

She said researchers should be considered an integral part of agribusiness investment strategies.

“We always leave the researchers behind, but the business needs to invest in the research as well,” she added.

Her comments come as stakeholders continue to explore ways of improving access to finance for businesses operating across Ghana’s agricultural value chain.

The Ecobank-Joy Business dialogue is examining practical approaches to mobilising capital to modernise agriculture and support businesses involved in different stages of the value chain.

The discussions also come amid broader efforts to expand agricultural financing.

In May 2026, Ecobank Group and AGRA announced a partnership aimed at improving access to finance for agribusinesses, farmer organisations and other actors across agricultural value chains, including through tailored financial products, risk-sharing mechanisms and blended finance.

For Madam Sampson, however, financing agricultural growth must extend beyond supporting production.

She believes businesses need to take a broader view of the sector by integrating the different stages of the value chain and giving research greater attention as part of their investment strategies.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.