A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and Member of Parliament for New Juaben South in the Eastern Region Micheal Okyere Baafi says the Akufo-Addo-led government is committed to protecting and safeguarding the investments of businesses in the country.
According to him, the Government will continue to provide the right policies and a strong legal and regulatory framework to protect investments.
This, Mr. Okyere Baafi notes, will reduce risk to “attract more financing for our farmers, aggregators, agro-processors, transporters, and exporters.”
“In fulfillment of our mandate of promoting domestic and international trade and investment, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will continue to create the enabling environment needed to attract private capital from local and international sources, to promote agro-processing and commodity trade,” he noted.
The Deputy Trade Minister gave the assurance at the virtual 2021 Ghana Agribusiness Investment Summit under the theme: “Building A Resilient and Sustainable Ecosystem for Agricultural Financing” on Tuesday.
He indicated that the agriculture sector plays a critical role in Ghana’s broader effort to achieve greater industrialization adding that “government, in recognition of the sector’s significant contribution to the national industrialization agenda, has introduced programs such as the One-District-One Factory (IDIF) Initiative, (as) a nationwide effort to establish at least one major factory in every district in Ghana.”
Mr. Okyere Baafi explained that the private sector-led IDIF initiative seeks to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one that is dependent on exports of raw materials and imports of finished goods to one that is focused on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed goods.
“Government, through the IDIF initiative, creates the necessary conducive environment for businesses to access funding from financial institutions and other support services from Government agencies,” he said.
In the view of Mr. Okyere Baafi, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), hosted in Ghana, also presents additional opportunities for agricultural commodity trade and investment.
AfCFTA, the Deputy Trade Minister indicates, gives preferential access to African markets worth $504 billion in goods and $162 billion in services.
He said the removal of tariffs on goods under AfCFTA reform could increase intra-African trade in agricultural and food products by 20% to 30%, stressing that the huge integrated market of over 1.2 billion people offers opportunities for agribusinesses to grow their businesses, expand their export potential, create jobs, and increase profits.
BY Daniel Bampoe