… says any committee regulating their affairs requires their inputs
The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana is calling on government to include its leadership in any committee constituted to oversee improvement of soya value chain activities in the country.
It also said government must revise the leadership of public institutions like Ghana Commodities Exchange, Buffer Stock Company and the incoming Commodities Export Control Authority to give value chain actors control to lead these committees for effective operations on the ground.
Their call follows the recently extended temporary ban on the exportation of grains including rice, maize and soya beans, saying they were not consulted on the decision.
“We sincerely appreciate government’s move to regulate the export of this commodity; but based on the concerns raised by our members who are the main actors, we think further engagement is needed.
“In addition, we would have liked that at every stage of the negotiations leading to the final decision of this temporary ban, members of SVCAG should have been consulted as a body; but unfortunately this did not happen,” it stated.
Speaking to the media at a press briefing in Accra, the 3rd Vice Chairman of SVCAG, Daniel Ahenkorah, said efforts by government to regulate the export of soya and ensure sanity would yield better results if the key actors were engaged before decisions are made.
National strategy
He added that government should increase efforts to develop a national strategy to make soya beans a cash crop in order to acquire syndicated loans to support development of the value chain, and also be able to announce yearly prices for soya beans-purchasing to ensure sanity.
“Government should do all it can to protect and maintain Ghanaian non-GMO soya production. It is our niche market, and when lost it will produce massive unemployment and loss of livelihood for all who benefit from the soya value chain in Ghana – especially for all the northern regions of Ghana,” he added.
SVCAG currently
Speaking on how the value chain is faring, Executive Secretary Yaw Afrifa said just as many sectors are facing crisis due to the economic challenges, their sector has not been spared either but is hopeful things will catch up soon.
“As of now, we are not doing that good because the pivot of the value chain, the processors, is in crisis. As we speak, we have realised that the poultry farmers who consume our produce are only using 5 percent of their needs from the local industry; they import almost 95 percent of all their soya needs, whereas we have companies in Ghana which can meet that market.
“As a value chain our processing sector is also in crisis, and we need government’s support,” he said.
The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana was established more than a decade ago to produce and make available high-quality certified soya seeds for farmers in Ghana, and to quadruple soya beans production figures each year.
