Accra Oct 29, -The Ghana
Standards Authority (GSA), with support from the German Development Cooperation
(GIZ) is assessing the mango value chain to ensure that mango and mango-derived
products meet the highest international standards for local consumption and
export.
The initiative is being giving
technical support by the German National Metrology Institute (PTB), as an
implementing arm of the GIZ.
It falls within a bigger activity
carried out by GSA which was collaborating with several public and private
organisations, to support farmers and factories in meeting quality requirements
of the export markets with focus on non-traditional products.
Commercial mango production that
started in Ghana in 1997 is said to be more viable than most cash crops being cultivated
in the country, as 2, 218 metric tonnes of fresh cut and dried mangoes were
exported in 2015 to countries in Europe, South Africa, Israel, USA, China,
Russia and Niger.
Currently, 70 percent of all
mango produce is traded on the local market as fresh or processed, while 432
metric tonnes were also imported in 2015 to feed some local processing
industries mainly in the off season period, as well as 479 metric tonnes of
mango juice were also imported.
Ghana’s hold of mango in West
Africa is 14 per cent, experts have said.
However, the production of mango
which had been described as very rewarding, was noted to be confronted with
lots of constraints through its value chain, Mr Samuel Asante Mensah, Director
in charge of Agriculture at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
Ghana has said.
During a presentation at a GSA
event hosted in Accra, Mr Asante Mensah mentioned some of the constraints as
little research support from agriculture research institutions, and very few
mango cultivator being grown.
He said the inadequate knowledge
of agronomy by many farmers as well as inadequate control of pests and
diseases, including fruit flies were some of the constraints confronting mango
production.
He however noted that donor
partners, including GIZ, USAID and the EU were helping Ghana to deal with the
fruit flies, which was a good boost to farmers producing mangoes.
Mr Asante Mensah, therefore
called for the need to look for the global hub of training for local farmers,
and also ensure that mangoes were bought in weight, not in volumes, to enable
producers get real worth of their produce.
Participants and representatives
of the Ministries of Trade and Industry (MOTI), and the Food and Agriculture
(MOFA), as well as Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), farmers
associations, exporters and other industry players attended the GSA event.
Meanwhile a release issued by the
GSA has noted that the Authority was working seriously with its partners
through various workshops to enable stakeholders learn from each other and
understand their roles and responsibilities to make mango-products more
competitive on international markets.
Mr. Gaudenz Pfranger,
representative of the Swiss trading company HPW, had mentioned that “quality is
key to enter in international markets. New opportunities lie in growing demand
for healthy food and organic products.”
Professor Alex Dodoo, Director
General of GSA, had empahsised the critical role of the Authority in pushing
the business of Ghanaian exporters.
He believed that quality
infrastructure initiative was critical towards the success of the government’s
flagship programmes, the “One District, One Factory” (1D1F) programme as well
as the “Planting for Food and Jobs” programme.
Therefore, the GSA’s quality
infrastructure building efforts was intended to benefit all Districts in the
country, he noted.
GNA
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