President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Cabinet will soon approve the National Agribusiness Policy to anchor the nation’s aim of value addition.
The President made the announcement in his address at the maiden Presidential Dialogue with the Private Sector.
He noted that recently, wild fluctuations in the world cocoa market price had compelled the Government to take emergency steps to cushion the nation’s cocoa industry and protect their farmers.
“Measures have included a painful downward review of the domestic producer price. The current crisis in the cocoa sector compels us to urgently introduce reforms in the entire cocoa value chain,” he said.
“Reforms will include, amongst others, domestic funding for cocoa purchasing, expanded involvement of local licensed buying companies in cocoa purchasing, including the revamp of the produce buying company, expand value addition and processing of cocoa and other tree crops locally, automatic price mechanism that pays the farmer 70 per cent of the international market price at prevailing exchange rates, drastic reduction of expenditure and elimination of waste in the cocoa board, and retooling of the cocoa processing company.”
He said: “We must move Ghana from a raw commodity exporter to a value-added producer. The same applies to the extractive industry. To achieve processing of all mineral oils locally within a five-year time frame.
At the center of our transformation agenda is a 24-Hour Economy Policy.”
The President said factories operating one shift produced one shift output, whereas factories operating three shifts maximize capital, infrastructure and labor productivity.
He said the 24-Hour Economy Authority had now been established to coordinate nationwide implementation.
He said, he had the privilege of assenting to this bill and it had been enacted into law.
The President said for manufacturers, this included shift-based incentives, off-peak electricity tariffs, enhanced nighttime security, structured labor dialogue, tax exemptions on equipment for factory expansion and other associated incentives.
“This is not mere reform. It is a productivity revolution. The African Continental Free Trade Area is the world’s largest integrated market by the number of participating countries,” President Mahama said.
“But access alone does not guarantee competitiveness. Energy reform is an African Continental Free Trade Area strategy. Financing reform is an African Continental Free Trade Area strategy.”
President Mahama said enforcement reform was an African Continental Free Trade Area strategy.
“We must work to make Ghana West Africa’s production hub,” he stated.