Groundnut farmers and shea butter producers in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region have been told to increase the production of the commodities.
Dr. Martin Akogti, Regional Director for Upper East & West Regions, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), said these two districts in the region are noted for the production of groundnut and shea butter for domestic consumption and export purposes.
He said there was a need for producers of these products to ensure there is quality in their products to meet the requirements of international markets.
“Our aim is to whip up the interest of the producers and bring to their attention the need to give attention to quality products knowing very well that international market requirements are different from that of domestic markets.”
Dr. Akogti made these remarks in Navrongo during a capacity enhancement on the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The National Export Development Strategy was launched in October 2020 to provide a clear direction and intent to increase non-traditional export earnings to US$25.3 billion in 2029.
To achieve the targets, Dr. Akogti mentioned key pillars such as expanding the supply base and value addition, creating a business-enabling environment, especially by regulatory agencies and building the capacity of regulatory agencies and actors within the value chain.
“Now, if you put all these factors together, you are on your way to expanding exports out of Ghana. And when you expand, of course, you are going to increase revenue earnings and by so doing, you would have been achieving the target enshrined in the National Export Development Strategy document which is to increase the exports to $25.3 billion in 2029”
He called on metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies in the country to create an enabling environment for the successful implementation of NES.
Yakubu Yussif, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, said the AfCFTA is a new single market in the world which is found in Africa with 55 countries signing into the agreement.
He said the platform which offers huge opportunities provides a ready market for exporters in Africa.
“Some exporters are already exporting into European, Asian markets and the like. But we are now creating awareness and building the capacity of the exporters that there is now an AfCFTA market for their products. So, this will enable them to add value, and increase production that will meet the standard of AfCFTA”
He indicated that the National AfCFTA Coordination Office is working with the relevant implementation partners to ensure that exporters go through stress-free clearance and exportation of goods.
Mr. Yussif said the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will not only add value to African products, “it will increase African export by 81 percent and also increase export within Africa by 29 percent. So definitely, it will bring revenue for the governments of Africa to continue to provide infrastructure.”
Kassena-Nankana Municipal Chief Executive, Joseph Adongo revealed that the municipality is only a hub for the cultivation of groundnut and shea butter processing, other commodities such as rice, pepper, and tomato if harnessed properly for export purposes will reduce the poverty level in the area.
The MCE called for the need to establish a factory in the municipality to meet the growing cultivation of rice in the municipality.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Navrongo|Ghana
