Mr Sunny George Verghese addressing the durbar
Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Olam International, Sunny George Verghese, has announced the company’s commitment to help the government of Ghana build prosperous farmer and farming system and thriving rural communities in the country.
He believes this is the only way for Ghana’s economy to survive and food security to be maintained, in the phase of broken global food and agriculture system caused by climate change and its attending biodiversity loss.
Addressing a durbar after visiting Olam’s model cocoa farm at Baakoniaba in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region, Verghese said building prosperous farmer and farming system requires that farmers are helped to produce more with far less resources.
“We believe the global food and agriculture system is broken because we account for 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emission; we account for the 75 percent of water withdrawn and the 70 percent of biodiversity loss.”
“We cannot continue to produce food, feed and fibre on this basis going forward. We have to resort to a more sustainable food production system and [the model farm at] Baakoniaba village is a great symbol of what we can do to produce food sustainably going forward,” he stated.
He was accompanied to the farm by members of the board of Olam International, including its chairman, Lim Ah Doo.
Mr Sunny George Verghese with other members of the board inspecting cocoa beans
The board also used the opportunity to commission a mechanized borehole and a three-unit classroom block with office and store the companied built for the Baakoniaba community to be used by Junior High School students in and around the area.
“Baakoniaba village is a great symbol of what we can do to produce food sustainably going forward. The plantation that we got the privilege to visit has just got cocoa yields which is about 15 percent higher than the average yield in Ghana.”
“So just imagine how much more we can produce with far less resources if the rest of Ghana cocoa farmers follow the Baakoniaba example,” Mr Verghese noted.
The Olam CEO continued that the company is ready to also help build thriving rural communities and that Baakoniaba community is a microcosm of the kind of rural thriving communities they want to help and participate in building.
He again declared Olam’s commitment to help the country take action against climate change in order to restore the healthy soil of all arable lands in the country.
“Without healthy soils we cannot produce anything, preserve the ecosystem and provide a safe drinking water,” he indicated.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Baakoniaba-Ash