Anthony Sikpa, the President of the Federation Association of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE), has stated that there are so many opportunities for Ghana to explore in order to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
But he added that making the most of the opportunities will require the Ghana Export Promotion Authority to act more practically to address challenges of farmers who are a major part of the export chain.
“GEPA has a lot more to do than they are saying they have. They need to look at each product, on a case by case basis and find out what is ailing them, to address it,” he implored.
The President of FAGE, who was engaged in an Eye on Port panel discussion on how exports could be used as a catalyst for national development, described the state of Ghana’s exports as having plateaued.
Anthony Sikpa asked the GEPA to collaborate more closely with the various categories of producers and exporters to identify challenges that are encountered in the business to bring more practical solutions to them.
“I will suggest to GEPA that despite the nice government programs that have come up, they need to sit down with the individual members in the value chain and see where they can make an impact,” he urged.
He identified global warming as very troubling to the export business as warmer climate has given rise to pest and diseases, and unsavoury harvests.
He advised GEPA to engage farmers in climate-smart agriculture, which is incorporating skills that combat ill-climate in farming methods to yield better results.
He encouraged the use of drought-resistance seed as an example of climate-smart measure. He said this would be achieved through GEPA’s collaboration with the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate of Ghana.