Over 2,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDAIF) to boost their production capacities for domestic market and export.
Trade and Industry Minister, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, made this known when he addressed about forty officials from the Ministry and its Agencies during a two-day review meeting in Tamale on Friday.
Hon. Iddrisu said the review of the EDAIF Act was to serve this purpose and, therefore, EDAIF should put pragmatic measures in place as a matter of urgency to support these farmers to increase their yields.
“We should take advantage of our agrarian economy to increase production for the local market and export”, the Minister said. He urged the management of the Fund to reach out to companies that could create jobs, irrespective of their political leanings.
He disclosed that the Ministries of Trade and industry, and Food and Agriculture would collaborate to halt the over dependence of rice importation by encouraging and supporting local rice farmers financially and technologically to increase their yields to meet the growing demand for rice by Ghanaians.
The Trade Minister said in order to reduce delays at the ports, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) should prepare for pre-shipment inspection as efforts were made to install more scanners at the ports to ease congestion and also reduce delays in the clearing of goods.
He said officials working at the ports should also provide a 24-hour service to compliment the efforts of government.
Hon. Iddrisu asked officials from the GSA to build their capacities in order to wean themselves from government subvention, adding that from 2015, the GSA would not receive any subvention from government.
He, therefore, urged them to retain 75% of their internally generated funds to meet their financial needs. He was particularly worried about the Government-Bonded Warehouses which had now become a source of revenue leakage and gave the assurance that every effort would be made to halt this.
Hon. Iddrisu told the gathering that the Ghana Investment Promotion Council and Ghana Export Promotion Authority would be repositioned to support Ghana’s missions abroad to promote a vigorous and aggressive trade and investment drive, adding that by the end of the year, toothpick would be manufactured in the country.
