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Ghana's Day at the Royal Agriculture
Show, Warwickshire, UK
Accra, July 15, Ghanadot/GNA – The Deputy Minister
responsible for livestock at the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture, Ms Anna Nyamekye has said Ghana was ready to
join the international community as equal partners in the
field of agriculture, agro processing and agri-business.
Ms Nyamekye said one of the reasons for Ghana’s
participation in events such as the annual Royal Agriculture
Show held in Stoneleigh, United Kingdom, was to showcase the
country and to advertise the opportunities that exist for
prospective investors.
A statement from the Ghana High Commission in London said Ms
Nyamekye made these remarks when she addressed visitors and
exhibitors at Ghana’s stand to mark Ghana Day at the Royal
Agriculture Show held in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.
She said Ghana’s agricultural land constituted 13.628
million hectares representing 57.1 per cent of land
availability.
Out of this, only 44 per cent of the agricultural land is
cultivated with only two per cent under irrigation, whilst
inland waters account for 1.1 million hectares representing
4.6 per cent of total land area.
Ms. Nyamekye said the agricultural sector in Ghana
contributed about 40 per cent of the country’s GDP, employed
over 60 per cent of its economic workforce, accounted for
some 30 per cent of export earnings and approximately 12 per
cent of tax revenue.
“Agriculture is therefore the mainstay of the Ghanaian
economy and the promotion of agricultural production is
therefore vital to ensuring food security and poverty
reduction,” Ms Nyamekye said.
Ms Nyamekye announced that being a tropical country, Ghana
had in place the qualities of a favourable weather, land
banks, investor friendly legislations and structures and
invited potential investors to take advantage of the very
conducive climate to invest in the livestock, fisheries and
most importantly the agro processing and agribusiness
sectors.
She said Ghana should be preferred to other countries by
potential investors because she had a stable political
system based on multi-party democracy, a fully liberalised
and fairly stable economy, is strategically located in terms
of sub-regional, international and commercial trade and had
one of the best trained, trainable and stable work forces in
Africa.
Ms Nyamekye said Ghana was rated among the top six countries
in Africa in terms of progress in the business environment
(2000-2003 by UNCTAD/ICC) and recently won a Commonwealth
Business Council (CBC) award as the African country that has
contributed the most to improving an environment conducive
for business, investment and trade.
She said Ghana had good transport and infrastructural
network, quota-free access to the United States of America
and European Union Markets and had just discovered oil in
commercial quantities.
She said investors may bring in foreign exchange for
business purposes without any restrictions, exchange foreign
currency for local currency at market determined rates,
repatriate foreign currency earned without any restriction
and count on government guarantee, backed by international
agreements, to protect investments. In addition, imported
agricultural inputs were tax-free, she said.
Ms Nyamekye expressed gratitude to the organisers of the
fair, which, she said, was one of the most important events
in the calendar of the Ministry.
GNA
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