Entrepreneur Nana Owusu-Achau is the founder of Agro Kings, a Ghana-based company that produces the Nana’s Rice brand, among other food products. Last year, the company sold over $1 million worth of rice.

However, before this success in agriculture, he had two failed farming ventures. One of these was a cattle-rearing initiative. His plan was to buy livestock from northern Ghana, transport them to the south, fatten them, and sell the meat. However, the venture did not turn out as expected, as a herdsman lost some of the cattle under unexplained circumstances. He then tried maize farming, but this, too, was unsuccessful.

Reflecting on these setbacks, Owusu-Achau attributes them to his lack of on-site involvement. “I was doing what they call absentee farming. So you have the farming happening in the rural part … and then you are in the city doing your usual business … That model doesn’t work, especially not for Ghana … If you treat agriculture as a side, its money will also come to you as a side. It will not give you what it can potentially give you.”

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Agro Kings owner, Nana Owusu-Achau builds rice brand to over $1m in yearly sales