Government has appealed to palm oil producers to adhere to international standards in their chain of production to prevent their goods from been rejected at the international market.
“There is ongoing paradigm shift in the palm oil sector towards sustainable palm oil production” Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Fiifi Kwetey said at the Africa Sustainable Palm Oil Forum in Accra.
According to him, the development and the need for sustainability has resulted in the implementation of policies with definite timelines for admitting only certified producers into bodies such as the RSPO.
The implication is that, non-certified palm oil producers will eventually be excluded from international palm oil trade.
The minister lamented that it could result in loss of the much-needed export revenue to Ghana, hence the need to up local standards to conform to globally accepted standards.
“The necessary measures are being put in place to help our local producers in meeting international standards”, Mr. Kwetey said, adding that farmers are being equipped with innovative techniques.
The Regional Programme Manager, of Solidaridad, (an NGO specialized in Palm Oil production) Mr. Delle Kpebesaan, noted that it is important for government to pay attention to the sector since it has the capacity to turn Ghana’s economy around.
“Since independence only little attention has been given to that part of the agriculture sector, but it has a huge potential to generate enough income for Ghana due to the significant demand of every part of the plant world wide”, he said.
He maintained that if a little of the attention given to cocoa farmers is accorded oil palm farmers the production and standard level would move the economy into new heights.
“There is a huge potential on oil palm production, Ivory Coast has a programme and their oil palm farmers are doing well, why can’t we support our oil palm farmers here in Ghana”, he asked.
He disclosed that Solidaridad is currently the only NGO in Ghana providing technical support for oil palm farmers in Ghana— producing 13.4 tons of palm oil per hector, while the national average production was 4.5 per hector, prior to the NGO stepping in.
He appeled to government to make available extension officers to palm oil farmers to help boost their production.
