1,757
Mr.Kwasi Etu Bonde, Member of Parliament for Kintampo North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo region on the ticket of the NDC has been named the Most Hardworking Member of Parliament in the year 2019. .
HE WAS GIVEN THE AWARD AT THE PRESIDENTIAL GLOBE AFRICAN HEROES HONOURS AWARD 2019 AT THE MOVENPICK AMBASSADOR HOTEL IN ACCRA ON LAST SUNDAY. The Awards was organised by the Pan-African Heroes Foundation in collaboration with Bureau of Research on Governance Commerce and Administration (BORGCA).
PROFILE OF HON.KWASI ETU BONDE. Hon. Kwasi Etu-Bonde is a professional Agribusiness and Rural Development Consultant operating under trade name Sustenance Agro Ventures (SAVE). As an Agribusiness Entrepreneur, he owns 358-acre SKY-3 Nucleus (Mango, Maize and Cassava) Farms and manages over 2,500-acre smallholder out-grower farms (SHFs) and 40-acre multipurpose SKY-3 Agribusiness Centre Complex in Kintampo Municipality that employs over 150 direct workers and 1,850 smallholder out-growers farmers, that made his Constituents called him “AKUAFO ADAMFO”. He was born in New Tafo-Akyem on 13th October, 1968, brought up in Ahafo Mim and he is married to Madam Sylvia Okyere with four biological sons and three adopted daughters. 
Hon. Kwasi Etu-Bonde holds Executive Masters in Business Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), 2004 with Entrepreneurship Development and Managing SMEs as optional area and B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture (Crop Science Major) from University of Ghana-Legon, 1996. He is a product of St. Peter’s Secondary School, Kwahu-Nkwatia and W.B.M Zion Secondary School, Old Tafo-Akyem all in Eastern Region of Ghana. After the B. Sc. Programme, he did a two-year extensive Graduate Management Development Programme in Agribusiness Value Chain, Contract Farming and Rural Development Management organised by British American Tobacco Plc. UK worldwide, dubbed the “CHALLENGE INITIATIVE” 1997 to 1999. He also participated in six months Post-graduate Farm Management Training in Commercial Horticulture Production and Export Management organised by AMEX International Inc. (under USAID) during the USAID/GoG Ghana Trade & Investment Programme (TIP) implementation. 
He is a certified GlobalGAP Internal Auditor and certified Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) Agribusiness Technical Service Provider (TSP) who participated in Commercial Development of 12 Farmer-Based Organisation Trainings implemented by AMSIG Resources Ltd for MiDA under the Ghana-USA Millennium Challenge Account Compact. Honourable’s SKY-3 Nucleus-Estate-Out grower Schemes link smallholder farmers in Kintampo zone to sustainable and premium input-output agricultural markets. Mango: 1,000 metric tons per year to Blue Skies since 2009. Maize: 3,000 metric tons per year to Yedent Agro Processing since 2014 High Quality Cassava Flour Factory: 10 tons per week to Praise Export Foods Gari: 3,500 maxi bags to Free Senior High Sch. Feeding programme 2018 and 2019. Fleet of tractors and other agric machineries for agric mechanisation services to farmers Agric input shop that sells quality and affordable inputs on cash and credit to SHFs. Through innovations, hard work and quality leadership, he was adjudged the first Regional Best Mango Farmer for Brong Ahafo in 2008, National Best Mango Farmer for Ghana in 2011 and the Overall Kintampo North Municipal Best Farmer in 2012. Kwasi ETU-BONDE was elected as Hon Member of Parliament by the Good People of Kintampo North in 2016 Dec. General Election. With regards to work experience, he has over twenty (20) years well rich experience in Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship and Rural Development and other potential under his sleeves. Hon. Kwasi Etu-Bonde was a Part-time Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship Development Lecturer at Methodist University College’s Faculty of Agriculture for three (3) years from January, 2007 to December, 2009. He also served as British American Tobacco Ghana’s Area Agribusiness Manager for nine (9) years from Nov. 1997 to Dec. 2006. His role as the Lead Agribusiness Consultant at his private consulting firm Sustenance Agro Ventures, involves leading the business in its agricultural input-output market linkages, plantation development & management and general agribusiness consultancy. His main clients are/were Ministry of Agriculture (MoFA) Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP), as Plywood Cassava Flour and Root and Tuber Supply Chain Facilitation Service Provider; German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), as Local Expert for mid-Ghana Mango Value Chain Development; BUSAC Fund for Kintampo Mango Farmers Association (KIMFA) Mango Advocacy Project and Mid-Ghana Commercial Mango Growers Association (COMANGA). COMANGA is an association of commercial mango farmers in Kintampo North and South, Wenchi-Tain, Nkoranza North and South, Techiman, Sunyani, Atebubu, Mampong Municipal and Ejura-Sekyeredumase Districts. Also he provides agribusiness services to some Export Trade and Agricultural Development and Investment Fund (EDAIF) sponsored farmers in Brong Ahafo and the three Gonja Districts. SAVE aggregate mango in mid-Ghana for fruits processors and exporters such as Blue Skies Products Ltd., Integrated Tamale Fruit Co, HPW Fresh & Dry Co, Prudent Farms and Bomart Farms among others. He provides tractor services, maize/grain cleaning, and drying, warehousing, marketing and agric inputs services to SKY-3 Cooperative Farmers, Masar N’Ariziki, SADA Maize Service Providers (Muange & Hymore and Concern Universal) and the general public at his 40-acre Agribusiness Centre with 3,000 ton capacity warehouse. Kwasi has put up multi-million Ghana Cedis High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) processing facility in Kintampo to create jobs and income for over 500 people in and around Kintampo Municipality. Between the years 2015 to 2016 Hon. Etu-Bonde led SAVE to undertake these major projects. SAVE was the Coordinator for the Netherlands Organisation for Science Research’s WOTRO Science for Global Development Food and Business Applied Project in Brong Ahafo. Under this Project SAVE led a consortium to establish “Low Cost Entry Fruit Processing Facilities” for Smallholder Farmers in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. In addition, SAVE partnered International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to train 1,000 smallholder farmers in Kintampo zone in seed yam production and storage under IITA’s “Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa” (YIIFSWA). SAVE also partnered Esoko to register MGCSP/UNICEF Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) expansion programme in the 22 new districts in mid-Ghana. His former position as British American Tobacco’s Area Agribusiness Manager for nine (9) years involved developing, implementing and evaluating sustainable smallholder farmers’ contract/out-grower schemes; administering farmer loans (cash, materials and tractor services); organising and training registered smallholder farmers and staff to produce the company’s tobacco leaf requirement, in terms of volume and quality at economic cost and recovering all loans due. In addition to these he was responsible for the development and management of the company’s Leaf Department Database, Integrated Pest/Crop Management and Afforestation Plantations. A position he held for 5 years in Kintampo North and South Operational Areas, one year in Eastern-Volta Operational Area and 3 years at Wenchi-Tain-Banda-Techiman Operational Areas. At AMEX International Inc., Kwasi was involved in day-to-day planning and implementing of activities on commercial horticulture and their out-growers farms to meet their export orders in terms of quality, quantity and timely delivery at profitable cost. In all cases using internationally accepted Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) procedures. It will interest you to know that he did work as Sales Executive in-charge of agricultural materials, equipment and inputs with AGRIMAT Ltd. He was responsible for sales, demonstration and distribution of agricultural and environmental health products in the Ghanaian market. The World Bank and her developmental partners in their 2008 Development Marketplace Competition themed “Sustainable Agriculture for Development” selected his concept on how to linked Small-Scale Farmers to Input-Output Markets as one of the 100 Finalists Worldwide. His project proposal was titled “Ghanaian Sustainable Mango Value Chain Industry”. This means his concept when supported and fully implemented will lead to development of Ghana through mango production in addition to cocoa. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture was called to the floor of Ghana Parliament on 17th November, 2009 to brief the honourable house on steps being taken by the Ministry to ensure that the concept is implemented. Personal initiative and support from GIZ-MOAP taken to implement the concept led to establishment of COMANGA in 2010. He represented crop farmers on MoFA/IFAD Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) as Steering Committee member. He is currently serving as Agribusiness Expert for both Esoko Ghana’s E-agric Extension Platform and Kosmos Energy’s Kosmos Innovation Centre. Kwasi Etu-Bonde also represents Brong Ahafo farmers on National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG) National Steering Committee. He is a distributor for Kumark Agro Ltd, AGRIMAT Ltd, Franktason Ltd, Multivet Ltd, Ashvet Ltd and Wynca Sunshine Agric Ltd among others in the middle belt of Ghana. His working life in Brong Ahafo (Kintampo, Wenchi, Tain, Banda, Techiman, Atebubu, Sunyani, Nkoranza, Asunafo and Asutifi) Districts; Ejura-Sekyeredumase District in Ashanti Region; East Akim, Afram Plains, Fanteakwa, Akuapim South & North District in Eastern Region; Avenor & Tongu District in Volta Region; Kasoa-Bodweasi in Central Region; Takoradi in Western and Greater Accra Region have made him well vested in existing Ghanaian Agricultural Sector and Rural Enterprise Systems, their potentials, challenges and weaknesses. Hon. Kwasi Etu-Bonde has good entrepreneurial development, communication and inter-personal skills and well-motivated personality with readiness in accepting new challenges.
Other Award winners were, The best regional Minister,Mr.Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti regional minister, Best Deputy Regional Minister, Deputy Volta Regional Minister-Rev.Avuletey Johnson, the Best Sector Minister, Minister of Agriculture- Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto (MP),Best District Chief executive,Dr.Osei Kwame Despite,Prof.Dr.Kwame Kyei,CEO ,Unity group of companies, Stephen Appiah,former blackstars captain,Dr.Nana Kwadwo Gyasi,CEO of Nana K.Gyasi company limited,Kwame Safe Kai of peace Fm,Mrs.Ursla Owusu, communications Minister,Mr.Kwadwo Alan Kyeremateng , Minister of trade and industry,among others. Source:Broadcastergh.com/Ayisah Foster
