Leveraging the value addition of raw materials is the key to economic development and employability. Agro-processing is a vital economic driver in Ghana, essential for reducing post-harvest losses, increasing nutritional value, creating sustainable employment, and meeting growing demands for regional export.
To appreciate the Ghanaian agro-processing company contributing to economic growth and employability, the Minister of Food and Agriculture paid a working visit to P&A African Foods International Limited.
During the visit, Hon. Eric Opoku addressed the need to patronise locally processed agro-foods as the catalyst for youth employment and economic growth.
He mentioned that patronising the locally produced products helps to upscale production, increase the revenue of the local processor, and employ more hands in the production, thereby creating both direct and indirect employment for the youth in the country.
“If you don’t patronize what is produced in Ghana, you are contributing to the exploitation of jobs from Ghana to the outside world”, he added.
According to the Minister, Ghana’s annual import bill is in the region of $3billion; that means Ghana spends $ 3 billion every year to import food commodities into Ghana. That $3 billion goes outside Ghana to create jobs for the people in other countries.
To mitigate imports and retain the huge sums of money in Ghana’s economy, Ghanaians must develop a taste for locally produced goods and stop comparing locally produced goods to foreign goods.
He noted that price comparison forms the basis for Ghanaians opting for foreign products against locally produced products.
“The prices of our locally produced products are a bit higher than those of imported products; this is due to our production volume. We produce small quantities at a high cost due to demand. The demand for locally produced products is lower, making the products very expensive on the market to cover production costs.
If we want our products to be as cheap as the imported ones, let’s buy more irrespective of the price for the companies to produce more, and with more production, the production cost would be less, making the products cheap”, he admonished.
