Trade Development Manager Ahold Sustainable Trade Development, Ghana
"I love being in the food business. What we put into our bodies largely determines our wellbeing. Here in Africa, that's a very clear equation.
There is such a severe lack of opportunities for African farmers to produce good quality, viable products for western supermarkets, and Africa's share of produce in the international market is really scanty. Africa has a strong need for value-added assistance to help it to expand its business internationally by building capacity and by providing market access. African suppliers need links to the marketplace. ASTD tries to create them.
I come from a small village in the center of the Volta region of Ghana; it's beautiful there, green and hilly. My work has brought me to live in Accra, which I like too, although it's good to get back home when I can. As Trade Development Manager, part of my job is to check and improve existing supply chains and to create new ones. I have to safeguard future sources of supply and strengthen Ahold's performance in the area of sustainability.
“Suppliers here need a link to the market. This project tries to give it to them”
I joined the Ahold Sustainable Assistance Project (ASAP) on April 1 2005. On June 1 2005, Ahold ASAP evolved into Ahold Sustainable Trade Development (Ahold STD), expanding and integrating Ahold into 10 countries in Africa. So now, in Southern Africa, we're working in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In West Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Senegal.
We want to use the expertise of Ahold people to make a difference in Africa by creating the sort of business relationships with suppliers that are sustainable. Farmers get direct information and support from buyers, so they know what people in the stores want to buy and therefore what they need to grow. It's a specialised way of linking farmers to markets.
It's not always easy to get the quality and quantity of produce/product required at a competitive price. The farmers need guidance to grow produce of exportable quality and quantity. If you want to establish sustainable relationships, you have to be and stay really committed.
A fun aspect of my job is that I get to meet with a lot farmers and processors or manufacturers who could be potential suppliers to our operating companies. Right now we're working on sourcing good quality cashew nuts from West Africa. The program means that Ahold can source products from medium-scale farmers who otherwise couldn't have hoped to trade their produce on the international market. This increases their income and produce/product quality standards, and that in turn increases their competitiveness. I really hope that this initiative will thrive."