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Setting the pace in Agribusiness…The Mariseth story
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Agribusiness trialblazer Mariam Twumasi
Marian Ofori Twumasi is an established young female farmer moving steadily towards global recognition with her company, Mariseth Farms.
Mariseth Farms, an acronym of Marian and Seth (husband’s name) was founded in 2016 and has since grown to become one of the biggest suppliers of palm fruits, palm oil, maize, soya beans and other commodities to companies and households within Accra, Tema and beyond.
Operating on over 400 acre-land at Bibiani in the Western North Region and Asamankese in the Eastern Region, Mariseth Farms is setting the pace within the Agriculture sector.
The 35-year-old Mariam Twumasi, the 2021 National Best Youth Farmer is living the dream of making her farm, the hub for all natural produce (crops and livestock) in Ghana.
The dream, however, started in 2009 at the University of Ghana (UG) where she pursued Business Administration (Accounting).
Though, she had no knowledge about Agriculture, she was determined to venture into the sector and be successful, turning her main course of study into just an additional skill to her now real profession.
She approached the business as a hobby in 2009. She would visit farms with the desire to access some acres of land to start her own. She became successful eventually after securing three acres of land at Asamankese to start a Cocoa farm.
The former student of St. Roses Secondary School at Akwatia, near Asamankese chose the area since it was closer to Accra.
While in the university, she managed to save her pocket money together with some money she made out of her part-time teaching job to secure the land.
The plan was to go into Cocoa farming since she benefitted from Cocoa scholarship due to her father’s job. She later realised Cocoa was long-term so she had to do maize and other short-term crops while seeking for funds to support the long-term Cocoa project.
She then decided to go into some form of business, which was buying plantains from the villages in the area to Accra to sell.
That led to a decision to plant her own plantains and maize which she sold to make money to support her farm.
Mrs Twumasi later expanded the farm to seven acres in Asamankese, in 2012 when she completed university.
It was at that time she met her husband, Mr Seth Ofoe Twumasi who she described as her business partner. She sold the Agribusiness idea to Mr Twumasi which he has since supported.
Mr Twumasi managed to convince chiefs of his hometown, Nkronua at Bibiani in the Western North Region to allocate lands to them to start their farm project which was successful with an initial allocation of 10 acres to start with palm plantation.
The chiefs later realised she was doing well and granted her full access; which gave her over 400 acres of oil palm plantation and about 1000 acres yet-to-be cultivated land.
After a few years, she is able to sell some of the fruits, process some into palm oil and palm kernel oil and manage three fish ponds (catfish), 50 bee hives, livestock, poultry and other facilities on the same farm.
Eventually, she moved into big time commodities after the company, Mariseth was registered in 2016.
She also supplies soya beans, shea nuts, cashew as well as maize to companies and clients mostly in Tema and Accra.
Aside winning the National Best Youth Farmer award in 2021, she was awarded the Best Oil Palm Farmer in 2019, the first runner up, Municipal Best Farmer in 2020, Outstanding Woman in Agribusiness (GOWA 2020) the Change Champion and Young Agri-Preneur of the Year in 2022 and other recognitions. She is looking forward to winning more awards in 2024.
Marian got married to Mr Twumasi in 2013 and together, they have four beautiful girls. She described her husband as a pillar.
In the next five years, she would want to own a Processing Plant in the Western North Region to serve the oil palm farms in the area and a Mariseth Farm Village which would among other essentials have a storage facility.
She advised young people to take advantage of government initiatives in Agriculture and venture into the sector because it is very lucrative.
By Michael D. Abayateye
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
