The Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE) says it fully supports President John Dramani Mahama’s visionary 24-Hour Economy policy and recognizes its transformative potential for the nation’s horticultural sector.
Mr Davies Narh Korboe, FAGE President, announced the endorsement when he led a delegation of FAGE to pay a courtesy call on President Mahama at the Presidency in Accra.
He said the round-the-clock operations in processing facilities, cold chain logistics, and export handling could significantly reduce post-harvest losses, improve product quality, and enhance export competitiveness.
“FAGE is ready to partner with relevant government agencies and private sector institutions in developing specific interventions that will enable the horticultural sector to maximize benefits from this policy direction”.
Mr Korboe said FAGE was ready to work hand-in-hand with the Mahama administration in realizing their shared vision for agricultural transformation and export.
He noted that with the right innovations, transformative approaches, sustainable practices, efficient policy implementation, and strategic infrastructure investments, Ghana could achieve remarkable growth in the global agricultural market.
“The time for action is now. Let us move beyond rhetoric to practical implementation. Let us transform our agricultural potential into economic prosperity,” he stated.
“Let us position Ghana not just as a producer of raw materials, but as a value-adding, processing, and exporting powerhouse that creates wealth, generates employment, and ensures food security for our people”.
He appealed to the President’s continued support and leadership as they worked together to showcase Ghana’s agricultural and export excellence to the world, create lasting value for the economy, and build a prosperous future for all Ghanaians.
“We are confident that with your visionary leadership, strategic policy support, and our collective commitment to excellence, Ghana will emerge as Africa’s undisputed leader in agricultural exports and agro-processing.”
He reiterated that the success of the nation’s agricultural transformation agenda depended fundamentally on providing effective, comprehensive support to the farmers and exporters to enable them to scale their operations.
He appealed for urgent government attention to the critical areas of Financial Inclusion and Credit Access; such as making the acquisition of credit less burdensome for farmers, processors and exporters through streamlined processes and reduced bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Also significant reduction in interest rates on agricultural loans to make them accessible to small and medium-scale farmers.
Touching on technical capacity building support, Mr Korboe called for the provision of modern agricultural extension services with focus on climate-smart farming techniques and support for farmer organizations and cooperatives to achieve economies of scale.
He said FAGE in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) were promoting eight products in which the country had competitive advantage into the global market.
He said the impressive production portfolio spoke volumes about the potential of these eight commodities namely Chilli pepper, pineapple, mangoes, sweet potatoes, yam, fonio and coconut.
He appealed for President Mahama’s support in developing the portfolio further to drive wealth creation for country.
He said as they approach the Ghana Horticulture Expo 2025 and look toward the future of Ghana’s agricultural sector, they invite President Mahama’s continued leadership and support in positioning Ghana as Africa’s agricultural powerhouse.
“Together, we can achieve the ambitious target of US$5 billion in non-traditional exports while creating sustainable livelihoods for thousands of farmers and workers across our agricultural value chains,” he said.
Mr Korboe commended the Government for the appreciation of the Cedi against major trading currencies.
“If we work together and drive up our exports, we can sustain and stabilize the Cedi and drive macroeconomic gains. The opportunities before us are limitless,” he said.
He said with President Mahama’s administration’s visionary policies, particularly the 24-Hour Economy initiative, the Agriculture for Economic Transformation and the Big Push project, combined with strategic infrastructure investments, and their sector’s proven capabilities and commitment to excellence, we can transform Ghana’s agricultural landscape and establish the nation as the continent’s premier agricultural export hub.
“We must treat Ghana as a large agro-industrial enclave and apply industrial ecology principles to create maximum value.”
Mr Korboe complained to the President about the exclusion of FAGE from the boards of GEPA and Exim Bank Ghana.
He extended FAGE’s warm invitation to the President to serve as the special guest and deliver the keynote address at the upcoming Ghana Horticulture Expo on the 11th of June.
He said 200 exhibitors and over 3,000 Trade visitors from across the globe were expected to attend the forum.
By Iddi Yire, GNA
