GFZB Champions Gov’t Job Creation Effort

·    Supports Farmers’ Day

Story: W. K. Adusu

The Ghana Free-zones Board (GFZB), in its efforts to supporting government’s moves to creating jobs in the country, has issued industrial operational license to the largest Brazilian cashew nuts producer/exporters, Usibras, to help Ghanaian women in large scale cashew production.

Disclosing this to The Republic in Accra, Hajia Hanatu Abubakar, a Support Services Manageress of the Free-zones Board said, as part of free-zones companies, the Usibras was able to secure approximately 11.3 hectares of land at Pram-pram in the Greater Accra Region, for its operations.

Hajia Abubakar stressed that the company wants Ghanaian women to grow more cashew; because companies from Ghana, Burkina-Faso, Benin, and Cote D’ivoire are not enough to feed the Usibras; hence, the move to set up the factory here in Ghana.

The Corporate Affairs Directress informed this Reporter that there are other things Free-zones Board is doing to help Ghanaian farmers to feed the fruit processing industries in the country and beyond, when the need arises.  

In further effort the GFZB has donated an amount of twenty thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢20,000.00) to the agricultural ministry towards the preparation for this year’s National Farmers Day celebration.

The institution sees itself as part of this year’s celebration, because there are farmers who produce certain types of crops which have beneficial values to develop Ghana. Hajia Hanatu Abubakar mentioned Shea butter, cashew nuts amongst many others, to feed the processing industry. 

She salute farmers, especially the few women among them who she noted play important role, in the development of Ghana.

In addition, she informed this paper that countries that export more than they import are better off, due to the incentives which go a long way to help balance the country’s trade deficit. Therefore, she said, Free-zones board was enthused when requested to donate to the farmers’ day celebration.

Hajia says they are doing so because in Ghana, agriculture is the mainstay of the country since time immemorial; ‘though, it looks as if services try to overtake agriculture of the country. She pointed out, however, that without food, the country will get to nowhere; and that free-zones companies need raw materials to work.

 She intimated that there are lots of these processing companies in the agro-processing sector as part of the free-zones priority; and these sectors process raw materials such as cocoa, Shea butter, and fruit juice amongst others.    

So is high time, Free-zones Board join others to cushion this year’s National Farmers Day Celebration. She disclosed that Free-zones used to support, but was in the quiet, and said that this ‘time we want the free-zones companies to see what the outfit has been doing’, Hajia added.

In a related-development, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) also presented a cheque for ten thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000.00) to enrich the forthcoming Farmers’ Day Celebration.

The donation was made by Mr. Eric Amireku Amaning, Ag Corporate Communication Manager on behalf of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Receiving the donations, Hon. Deputy Ministry of Food & Agriculture,    Dr. Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu,   thanked the institutions making the donations and promised that the cash donations would be used appropriately to benefit the country’s farmers.

He also appealed to other institutions to come over with their widow’s mite in order to make this year’s farmers’ day a unique one.

Other organisations that also donated towards the 2013 farmers day include Yara Ghana, GH¢10,000.00; ABL, 420 cartons of assorted drinks; WIENCO Ghana, Gh¢15,000.00 plus company products and souvenirs worth Gh¢70,000.00, and Ghana Reinsurance Company also donated Gh¢5,000.00.