By: Catherine Ahiador:
Concerns raised by small scale farmers after the commissioning of the Akorley Pack house have succeeded in drawing the attention and interest of many interest groups, particularly stakeholders in the mango producing sector.
President of the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association Of Ghana and the 2009 national best farmer, Mr. Davies Narh Korboe has said on Rite FM that he’s taken aback at the concerns raised by small scale mango farmers that the Akorley Parkhouse was a misplaced priority.
Mr. Enoch Teye, first runner up of the 2012 national best farmer awards had also opined that the construction of the Akorley Pack House located in the Yilo Krobo municipality in the eastern region was a wrong move and took a swipe at the brains and authorities behind the project, insisting that the construction of the facility was not in the best interest of the mango farmers.
But Mr. Korboe who was speaking on Rite FM’s Saturday program, Agric Forum explained that though the operations of the Akorley Pack house seems to deal with commercial mango farmers, the small scale mango farmers are not left out from accruing benefits from the infrastructure. According to him, small scale mango farmers can also use the Akorle Pack house to process their mangoes for export.
The FMSL multimedia board chairman emphasized on the need for mangoes produced in the country to meet global and international standards. This he pointed out can be achieved through a certification process of the mangoes, adding that the standards are very rigid to the extent that no one can escape a single step before exporting his/her produce.
He emphasized that before one can export mangoes; there must be checks to ensure that they are in the best of conditions and devoid of bruises, ant arcos, mal-formation, etc. before the mangoes are exported. ‘These can only be ensured if the mangoes pass through all these stages.’
He further indicated that the management of the Pack house can also buy the farm produce of farmers and process it themselves for exportation. Meanwhile, he cautioned that the Pack house can only buy the produce of a farmer for export if only that farmer can be recognized with an FBO.
On the other hand, Mr. Korboe said that the Pack house cannot accept the produce of a farmer when that particular farmer has no certification from the Environmental Protection Agency where the chemical content of the mangoes are examined before export.
Sent: 23/8/2016
