A temporary ban on Ghanaian vegetables by the European Union, which took effect in September 2015, has affected foreign exchange inflows, income for farmers and youth employment, according to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna. The Minister said the ban on some of Ghana's vegetables is having a devastating effect on the country's economy.
Alhaji Limuna revealed this at the launch of the 2016 Vegetable Sector Business Opportunities Report in Accra.
The report is an initiative of GhanaVeg supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which aims at enhancing commercial agriculture in Ghana.
The report provided in-depth analyses of the domestic vegetable sector; analysis for private extension services as well as business cases for a medium-sized professional export farm.
It also highlighted the emerging certification scheme, Ghana Green Label, which focuses on reducing food safety risks in the local market.
Commenting on best practices, the Minister said, government is in collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure responsibility on the part of farmers in vegetable production to avoid further bans of their products on the world market.
He noted that the exercise of safe, sound and responsible practices in the cultivation of vegetables is the only way to guarantee sustainability of the vegetable values chain.
Alhaji Limuna said steps to secure a reversal of the ban on vegetable export is far advanced and is confident farmers would be given the green light to export soon.
