Ms. Lilianne Ploumen at the launch of the Dutch vegetable initiative in Accra.
The Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Ms. Lilianne Ploumen, has launched three business initiatives aimed at developing and enhancing the production of quality vegetables in Ghana.
The initiative affords the opportunity to vegetable farmers in Ghana to benefit from the Dutch Embassy’s support through GhanaVeg Private Sector Initiative, to enable them boost production for both the domestic market and International market.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative in Accra, Her Excellency Mrs. Lilianne Ploumen said, Ghana needs to have a competitive and strong agriculture and vegetable sector, which should be driven by quality products.
According to her, there is not only a growing market in Ghana but also a demand for quality products that required proper investment in innovation and quality of ideas.
Mrs. Lilianne Ploumen revealed that the Netherlands has inspired the whole markets, as it changed the ideas on sustainability which has pushed the country ahead to be among the top 3 countries for the production of Vegetables in the world.
She recognized that there are lots of potentials for the vegetable sector to grow in Ghana, and that much is needed to be done in investments in high quality seeds.
“The quality of the agriculture sector in Ghana depends on the resolve of the stakeholders to share ideas on how best to manage their production lines,” she said.
Under the GhanaVeg Private Sector Initiative, two companies, Eden Tree Limited and Tikola Limited have been selected as beneficiaries of 50% of co-financing grant of GH¢200,000 for their business plans.
Ms. Catherine Krobo-Edusei of Eden Tree Limited noted that the fund will enable the company establish partnership with Tikola Limited to deliver their best to the sector.
According to her, the vegetable sector in Ghana is not producing enough vegetables to meet demands due to lack of funds and the equipments.
She also indicated that the sector is faced with unavailability of quality seeds.
Ms. Catherine Krobo-Edusei said her outfit will to assist small holder farmers in rural areas by offering them training, seed input and assist them meet GhanaVeg farm specifications.
On his part, Mr. Kor Ritsema from Tikola Limited indicated that the company has for the past years been struggling to establish its base, and that the GhanaVeg Private Initiative will give them the opportunity to expand their farm base.
He gave the assurance that with the US50, 000 funding from the Netherlands Embassy through GhanaVeg, Tikola will raise at least 10,000 farmers and be able to make US$1000 in revenue by December 2014.
