Some Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) made a remarkable impact at the 2025 AgriFair held at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra, showing that disability is no limitation to thriving in agribusiness and entrepreneurship.
A specially designated section of the fair spotlighted PWD-led enterprises and drew admiration from hundreds of attendees. Among the standout showcases was Nana’s Rice—locally grown rice produced by a brand that has not only established itself in Ghana’s agricultural value chain but also provided transformative employment for dozens of PWDs.
Nana Owusu-Achau, Chief Farmer of Nana’s Rice, shared the motivation behind building an inclusive workforce in an interview with Citi News.
“Last year October, I was on a ride back from an event in Aburi and thought, ‘Why don’t we try something with PWDs?’” he recounted. “My background is in technology. We once ran a programme training blind people to use tech, so this idea wasn’t new to me. I reached out to one of my guys, we got in touch with some hearing-impaired individuals, and started working with them.”
What started as a modest plan to engage five Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in farming has blossomed into a 55-member team now fully integrated into every stage of the rice production process—from land preparation and cultivation to packaging and sales.
“My initial plan was to cycle them through the entire value chain,” Owusu-Achau explained. “But once they reach a level—say a manager or supervisor—the teams don’t want to let them go. That’s how good they are.”
At the AgriFair, the Nana’s Rice booth run by PWDs drew widespread admiration—not just for the quality of the product, but for the powerful message of inclusion and capability it represented.
One of the vendors, a deaf participant, expressed through an interpreter that taking part in the fair helped him reach more customers and challenge harmful stereotypes.
“I feel seen and respected,” he said.
The AgriFair, organised by Channel One TV with support from Citi FM, has earned broad acclaim for championing innovation, supporting local production, and creating space for inclusive participation in Ghana’s agricultural transformation.