Stephan Couste, MD of Danone – Fanmilk making a presentation at the workshop
Some French companies operating in Ghana recently organised a two-day workshop to showcase their investment potentials and what these hold for Ghana’s agro and agri-food industry.
The conference, dubbed Agro French Touch, and held in Accra, was facilitated by Golden Exotics Limited, a lead producer and exporter of bananas and pineapples in Ghana.
It was aimed at a further strengthening of Ghana-French business relations, especially in agriculture.
MD of Golden Exotics Limited, Olivier Chasing, who highlighted the remarkable strides made by the company in Ghana, stated: “Golden Exotics activities is centred on ensuring the development of organic agriculture for which Ghana is a favourable location. The company engages the community continuously and adheres strongly to the application of local content by employing the majority of Ghanaians as employees.”
Lionel Barre, MD of Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd, in a speech, stated that Ghana is expected to become the second largest producer of rubber in West Africa in the next 20 years.
He emphasised his company’s commitment to the communities in particular through an association with the local chiefs and the provision of rubber-growing areas for local farmers.
Commenting on the agri-food sector, Stephan Couste, MD of Danone – Fanmilk, in a presentation, said “The company has also begun plastic waste collection programme with both environmental and economic benefits as its contribution to the country’s hygiene and environment. V Mane Fils, one of the world leaders in aromatic products spoke on its decision in choosing Ghana as its regional hub.
“The company works on the specificity of tastes in Ghana and West Africa to develop its activities in the sub-region, but also to find recipes that can be applied in Europe.”
Touton and Barry Callebaut, two other French companies, were described as companies, whose activities in the agro industry were contributing to the economy.
The Agro French Touch activities was preceded by a member-only onsite visit of the Golden Exotics Limited banana plantation where participants benefited from an exclusive tour of the facility with a short presentation on the activities of Golden Exotics and its contribution the agricultural sector in Ghana.
It formed part of activities lined up to celebrate the “France in Ghana 1957-2017: moving forward together,” which spans 60 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.
A business desk report