CAMFED Ghana is organizing yet another research seminar under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Annual Learning Summit.
The theme for this year’s Annual Learning Summit is “Supporting youth-led enterprises in agricultural value chains”.
The Summit will assemble agricultural entrepreneurs, agricultural finance and marketing experts, representatives from government institutions, researchers and policymakers, as well as civil society, to discuss research findings on the challenges limiting the full participation of young people in agricultural value chains; package of support young people, particularly females, will require to grow successful enterprises in agricultural value chains; support systems that have been provided by duty bearers to youth-led enterprises in agricultural value chains to succeed; as well as the range of agricultural finance and market opportunities available for young people to tap into.
The event will explore traditional and contemporary business opportunities in agricultural value chains that young people, especially young women, can venture into as well as innovative ideas that will enhance the growth and success of agro-based enterprises.
There will be significant interest in research undertaken within the sub-Saharan Africa region and the Ghanaian context, where relatively low access to capital and financial services, modern technology and technical assistance, markets, gender inequity in access to business development services, inimical socio-cultural mindsets, insufficient financing and insurance models for agricultural ventures, inadequacies in support functions and rules, as well as deficiencies in the macroeconomic system affect agribusinesses’ ability to thrive and succeed.
Research Areas
The seminar invites research in the following topical areas:
⦁ Macro-level agriculture and agribusiness performance and growth.
⦁ Digital agribusiness solutions: digital marketing tools, digital financial capabilities, digital infrastructure, medium/access, utilization, challenges and solutions.
⦁ Agric-based business development services (BDS): identifying critical BDS required to support youth in agricultural value chains; support required to sustain youth, particularly females, in agricultural enterprises, as well as identifying emerging agricultural business opportunities.
⦁ Gender inequities: identifying the gendered dimensions of the relatively low youth uptake of agricultural opportunities and proffering solutions to the gendered effects.
Call for Papers
CAMFED Ghana is calling for proposals for presentations on research relating to the aforementioned topics. All interested researchers, institutions, and partners are invited to submit proposals. Authors or institutions whose proposals are accepted will be invited to present their research work at the seminar scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at the Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana, Legon. An honorarium will be paid to presenters to cover logistics and transport.
Selection Criteria
The criteria for selection will include the following:
⦁ Research conducted in the aforementioned topics;
⦁ Research done in sub-Saharan Africa, or particularly in Ghana;
⦁ Research employing rigorous methods (either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods);
⦁ Demonstrable lessons can be drawn and applied to the Ghanaian context;
⦁ Research that incorporates programmatic or policy recommendations relevant to Ghana for stakeholders in the agricultural business development sector.
Timetable
1. Proposal Submission Deadline: 3rd June 2022
2. Approval of Proposals: 8th June 2022
3. Submission of PowerPoint presentation: 10th June 2022
4. Presentation of Research Work – Selected author(s) or institution(s) will be invited to present their research findings. Presentation is expected to be up to 20 minutes long. A detailed agenda, including timeslot for research presentation and follow-up discussions, will be shared prior to the seminar.
5. Submission Guidelines – Proposals should be submitted online with the caption “CAMFED Ghana Research and Learning Summit” in the subject line at mcfresearchsummit@camfed.org. Submissions should not exceed 5,000 words and should include an author, title and abstract. Upon successful review and acceptance of a Paper, the submitting author or institution will be asked to submit a PowerPoint presentation of the research at the seminar. It is expected that the Lead Author or the assigned representative of the institution will attend and present the research at the seminar.
Further Enquiries
Please relay all inquiries relating to the CAMFED Mastercard Foundation Research Seminar and Learning Summit to Patrick Atta Buabeng at pabuabeng@camfed.org or 0501264071 and Joel Boakye Mensah at jbmensah@camfed.org or 0540123389.
