The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) says it is working assiduously to make Ghana the lead exporter of Soyabean in the world by 2030.
The Ministry projects to achieve this feat through the implementation of strategic measures in the soya bean production value chain to ensure that the country meets its food security target through the planting for Food and Jobs.
Speaking at the launch of the “Support to Soya Bean Development in Ghana” a joint initiative between the government of Ghana and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with investment fund from the Japan government and investors in Accra, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, disclosed Soya bean production for the year 2022 recorded an increased production of 250,000 metric tons.
“In 2022, the total soya bean produced in Ghana is estimated to be around 250,000 metric tons .We intend to increase this number by 2027 to 1 million metric tons. Indeed Ghana is the number one exporter of yam and the number two exporter of Cocoa in the world and we are hoping that by 2030 Ghana will be the number one exporter of soya in the world,” he mentioned.
The sector Minister further highlighted some measures government is implementing to meet its ambitious target of making Ghana the lead exporter of soya bean in the world:
“Three strategic interventions have been proposed to address the key issues identified to militate the holistic development of the soya bean industry they are enhancing production and productivity, supporting research and increasing processing capacity for quality soya bean products,” he disclosed
On his part, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representative to Ghana, Yurdi Yasmi encouraged stakeholders within the Agriculture space to leverage on technology to build resilience in the sector.
“Globally, Agricultural sectors continue to experience challenges. We are living in a situation with multiple crisis such climate change, the war of Russia and Ukraine and having come out of COVID-19 pandemic so what we need to do to cope with these challenges and anticipate future crisis is to develop resilience of agricultural sectors,” he said.
“Meaning we will be better prepared in the future. That is a proactive approach by using technologies, innovations and usage of the local potentials to the fullest. The FAO in Ghana is always prepared to support the government to enhance agricultural sustainability,” he said.
The Japan Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Mochizuki Hisanobu pledged his government’s continuous support to Ghana’s agriculture transformation.
“This project exemplifies Japan’s continuous effort to support agriculture in Ghana. The government of Japan considers Agriculture as one of the prime areas for its support to Ghana,” he said.