Ghana will soon produce Cofee, shrimps and Palm oil on a large scale for export as well as consumption . President John Dramani Mahama who announced this at a media briefing at the Flag staff house wondered why a country like Ghana with all the lands and resources still import coffee, and can not produce Palm oil and Shrimps on a large scale. He noted that the time has come when we consume what we produce and even export some. President Mahama stated that the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture will be handling the Shrimps production and Cocoabod takes care of the coffee production. The low coffee production in the country can be attributed to the small area of land under cultivation, low yielding planting materials and poor marketing policy. Between 1970 and 1980, about 13,300 hectares of land was under coffee cultivation but this figure fell to 3,200 hectares as a result of the severe drought and the 1982 and 1983 bushfires. The total area now under small holder coffee cultivation is approximately 10,000 hectares. Inspite of these challenges government says it will revamp the sector. With the Shrimps farming President Mahama noted that Ghana stands making billions of dollars from shrimp farming if the industry is nurtured and developed. Ghana has the potential of rearing shrimps along the coast from Aflao in the Volta region to Axim in the Western Region. He expressed government commitment to promoting aquaculture particularly shrimp farming in the country to create jobs, wealth, achieve food security ,improve the nutritional status of the people and also export to earn foreign exchange. President John Mahama June last year commissioned a new shrimp farming project in Ada. The GHAVIE aquaculture shrimp farming project which is a pilot project by government's out grower fish farming scheme is expected to add an estimated $2 billion per annum to the national economy if exploited for exports.
No comments:
Post a Comment