By Austin Ofori Addo:
President of the Moringa Farmers Association in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr. Paul Yeboah has called on farmers to consider going into moringa farming because it has many health and economic benefits.
According to Mr. Yeboah who was speaking on Rite FM’s Akuafo Se Sen on Monday, his call stems from the fact that the leaves, seeds, flowers, as well as the roots of the moringa plant all have health benefits which is why many farmers are into its cultivation. According to Mr. Yeboah, a fruit such as mango contains vitamin A which is an essential nutrient to the body. This he argues is why farmers in the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions are into it.
He stated that, because cooking the moringa plant before use affects the level of the nutrient, they have adopted a new method of processing the moringa which is through drying and grounding it into powder for local consumption and exportation.
He added that the demand for moringa in the world market is very high especially in Korea where moringa from Ghana is in high demand due to its quality taste.
To buttress his point, Mr. Yeboah added that the USA has also requested ten tons of moringa leaves and forty tons of moringa oil from the Ghanaian farmers. He was however worried that the farmers are not able to meet these demands due to the fact that there are only few moringa farmers in the country. He therefore added that farmers must be encouraged to cultivate the moringa in large quantities to meet these demands.
Mr. Yeboah therefore appealed to the government to support them with solar drier to dry their moringa especially as we head towards the raining season. He also urged the government to help them get approval from the Food and Drugs Authority to grant them the necessary permit and assistance to process the moringa since according to him, it contains a lot of essential nutrients.
Source: ritefmonline.org
