Stakeholders within the Agriculture sector have stated that Ghana’s quest to reduce poverty can be fast-tracked with an unwavering commitment to develop its market and transportation channels to help farmers export their produce.
According to them, Ghana has the unique potential to feed her growing population, meet the raw material requirements of processing industries, achieve food security, and compete successfully as a leading supplier to countries around us and beyond.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Vice-President of Fair Trade Ghana Network, Florence Blankson, said “more efforts must be put into developing the infrastructural needs of rural communities to help them export.”
She further noted that the Fair Trade Ghana Network (FTGN) with support from Fairtrade Africa (FTA), is developing a detailed advocacy strategy to help tackle the problems faced by producers.
“The advocacy strategy would help the Network address some of its challenges regarding policy formulation and awareness creation on critical government directives. We would continue to make significant differences in the lives of producers and communities all over the world.” she added.
It seeks to support the growth of product-specific networks, influencing national trade policies, forming strategic partnerships and providing capacity building to strengthen the work of the network and the producer organisations.
“We believe that with a sustainable source of income to support the Network, we can support our members in sourcing for a good fair trade market and improve upon their capacity and governance, to increase their incomes and wages. This in the long run will lead to poverty reduction,” the Vice-President added.
Madam Blankson urged members to increase cooperation among their fellows on the continent if they had to seriously tackle poverty, explaining that if a Fair Trade entity in Ghana wanted organic cotton, they could turn to Fair Trade producers in Mali and not outside the continent.
“We further wish to assist our members to identify and engage in additional livelihood activities. Indeed, some of our members are already engaged in such valuable practices,” she said. The event was on the theme: “Championing Sustainable Agricultural and Handicraft Production in the Fairtrade Environment.”
The Network was established with support from Fairtrade Africa to collaborate better with Fairtrade certified producer organisations in Ghana and to encourage others to join the Fair Trade movement to get a certification.