The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is targeting an annual revenue of $12 billion from exports of some six selected tree crops.
The six crops are Oil Palm, Shea, Rubber, Coconut, Mango and Cashew.
Addressing the media in Kumasi, the sector minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said the strategic plan is designed to offer a lifeline to the tree crop sector in Ghana.
“By 2027, our target is for each of the six selected tree crops to generate a revenue of at least 12 Billion US Dollars, equivalent to that of the annual revenue of cocoa. This is achievable per stipulations of the strategy,” he stressed.
Indeed, cocoa production has been the backbone of the country as the most important cash crop for over 120 years.
It has, however, been under threat as a result of decreased land for production in the last few years due to deforestation, climate change, Galamsey and others.
But Dr Afriyie Akoto mentioned that the tree crop sector, which is being cultivated by over 1.5 million households, is a great way to diversify the country by creating more jobs and reducing poverty.
This is coming at a time when the European Union is formulating legislation which could make it difficult for Ghana’s Cocoa to be accepted on the European market.
The new law prohibits cocoa from countries where child labour is used and where also the lands are degraded.
In view of the persistent illegal mining which is becoming prevalent in cocoa growing communities in Ghana, it is feared that when the new EU legislation comes into force, it will greatly affect Ghana.
SOURCE theghanaianvoice