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Western Region invites investment in 400 million dollar coconut industry

By
Samuel Akumatey, GNA

Ho, Dec. 05, GNA –
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister has invited investors
to explore opportunities in the coconut production industry in the Region.

He said the Western
Region, which produced about 85 per cent of the nation’s coconut, had
structures in place to realise a minimum of USD 400 million annually from the
crop.

The Minister was
speaking at a regional focus event in Ho, which formed part of the 35th
National Farmers Day.

He said five million
coconut seedlings would be produced with the establishment of two new nurseries
at Shama and Jomoro.

“Come and invest in
our coconut industry if you want to get rich. Our coconut is entirely different
from all others in Ghana because of good soil and water quality,” he said.

Mr Okyere
Darko-Mensah said improved coconut hybrids resistant to the Cape Saint Paul’s
Wilt Disease (CSPWD) had been developed, and that the Region produced
internationally acceptable coconut oil.

He said a 15 acre
nursery had been established at Anyinase to produce 45,000 hybrid seedlings
resistant to the CSPWD annually, and that the Coconut Development Unit was also
assisting farmers re-grow trees lost to the disease.

The Minister said
the Region was also the hub for the production of other tree crops including
coffee, oil palm, and rubber, with a significant number of agro based
industries flourishing.

“Opportunities
abound in cocoa and coffee processing into beverages, butter, chocolate,
industrial and edible palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil.

“There are
opportunities also in the areas of fresh fruit juice processing, edible
cassava, cocoyam, plantain products, industrial and high-quality cassava flour
and starch. Others are rice milling, rubber processing into tyre, tubes and
other rubber products”, he said.

The minister also
touted investment opportunities in forest wood, bamboo, and rattan among
others, which could be processed into furniture and construction materials.

He said favourable
climatic conditions in the entire Region made possible the production of exotic
commodities including black pepper, nutmeg, rabbits, mushrooms, and snails.

The Minister also
called on investors to consider the Region’s cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and
poultry rearing industries, saying there was the need to maximise their
production to meet market demand.

He said the region
was endowed with an estimated 14,555 hectares of inland valleys, with adequate
water resources for irrigated agriculture, notably all year round production of
rice and vegetables to feed both local and international markets.

He also said its
vast coastline with significant number of fish landing sites produced the bulk
of the nation’s aquatic produce, and that with the construction of two new
landing sites at Axim and Dixcove, investment in the sector was most viable.

The minister said
the Ankobra, Pra, and Tano tributaries were suitable for the development of
fish farms, with several hatcheries in the region producing about 480,000
fingerlings annually, which could also be expanded.

Mr Okyere
Darko-Mensah said this gave the Region a better chance to pilot Government’s
Aquaculture for Food and Jobs programme.

The minister however
said challenges including low fertilizer use particularly in rural areas with
bad road networks, inadequate infrastructure, and illegal mining continued to
plague agriculture development in the region.

He said illegal
mining, aside destroying lands, was also affecting the availability of farm
labour and cost, as the youth turned more attention to galamsey.

He said efforts were
being made to make agriculture more attractive to the youth, and that community
mining sites were obliged to grow trees and vegetables as corporate social
responsibilities.

Mr Okyere
Darko-Mensah said army worms were “solidly” under control, and again called on
investors to “partner hardworking farmers exploit the numerous opportunities in
the Region”.

This year’s Farmer’s
Day celebration is on the theme “Enhancing Small Scale Agriculture towards
Agribusiness Development”.

President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo Addo would grace the award ceremony on Friday, December 06,
during, which best farmers from across the country would be awarded.

GNA

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