By: Maltiti Sayida Sadick
The Director of Presidential Initiatives on Agriculture and Agribusiness, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor has warned that Ghana is losing out on massive revenue from its agricultural commodities due to limited value addition, especially in the cocoa sector.
Speaking on GTV Breakfast Show, Dr. Otokunor revealed that although Ghana and Ivory Coast produce about 65% of the world’s cocoa, the global cocoa industry is valued at $142 billion, yet Ghana earns less than 2%.
“We are losing out because we don’t add value,” he stated.
To address this, the government plans to establish processing plants across the country, and with the global demand for cashew, the government is also considering the establishment of processing plants in the Bono areas and has plans to expand coconut production by 60,000 hectares under the President’s vision of feed Ghana.
Dr. Otokunor also raised concerns about post-harvest losses, particularly in soya beans, explaining that the nature of the crop makes harvesting difficult with standard combine harvesters. He disclosed that discussions are ongoing to remodel combine harvesters to suit Ghana’s farming conditions.
He announced that abandoned 1D1F factories are being revived, citing the Kantanka Company’s use of the Assin areas 1D1F facility for production as a success story.
On the shea industry, he identified post harvest challenges such as transportation from farms to factories as a major hurdle but noted that the government has supplied PPEs to shea nut pickers to protect them from snake bites.
Touching on illegal mining, Dr. Otokunor said the military is adequately equipped to remove illegal miners from forests and water bodies.He added that to reduce the impact of galamsey on Agriculture his outfit has forged a partnership with the Forestry Commission under the Agro-Forestry Restoration Initiative.Under the “Dobidi” initiative, government has expanded support beyond maize and rice, signing an MoU with Maflix, a major vegetable exporter, to help smallholder farmers access export markets and earn foreign exchange with government providing input support.
He further disclosed that the government is working with investors to establish an egg processing plant in the Ashanti Region, a move expected to boost the poultry value chain and create jobs.
More Stories Here
Source:
www.gbcghanaonline.com
