Africa-Press – Ghana. The Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), in partnership with NIRAS under the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II), has held the maiden Cashew and Oil Palm Policy Dialogue in Accra.
The event, which brought together key government officials, development partners and industry stakeholders, was held on the theme: “Building an Enabling Policy Environment for Developing a Competitive Oil Palm and Cashew Sector: Lessons from Around the World.”
Dr Andy Osei Okrah, Chief Executive Officer of TCDA, in a welcome address, said the cashew and oil palm sectors held immense potential to create jobs, diversify Ghana’s export portfolio and improve livelihoods.
He stressed, however, that such potential could only be realised through coherent policies and a robust regulatory framework.
Participating in a panel discussion, Dr Okrah reaffirmed TCDA’s commitment to ensuring transparency, effective regulations and licensing across its six selected tree crops.
He said the Authority was strengthening collaboration with state institutions such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Division to enhance monitoring and enforcement of export commodities.
Dr Okrah added that TCDA would continue to support the local economy by providing raw materials for processing, while improving its strategic communications and stakeholder engagement to ensure information reached all actors along the value chain.
Mr Paul Siamah, Chief Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), delivered a keynote address on behalf of the sector Minister, Mr Eric Opoku.
Other high-level participants included Ms Julian Ofori Karikari, Team Lead of GPSCP II, Mr Taylor Crabbe, NIRAS-GPSCP II Consultant, Dr Ashwini Sebastian, World Bank Team Lead for the Tree Crops Development Project, and Ms Magdalena Wüst, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in Ghana, who spoke on behalf of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
The dialogue marks an important step in shaping policies to strengthen Ghana’s tree crops sector and improve its global competitiveness, particularly in cashew and oil palm.
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