Two horticultural companies have received a 50 per cent co-financing grant of GH¢ 200,000 as part of the GhanaVeg initiative. The companies are Eden Tree Limited and Tikola Limited.

The initiative, which is worth Four million Euros over three years, seeks to help farmers to produce quality and healthy vegetables from Ghana through new and improved methods and also to commercialise vegetable production in the country.

Ms Lilianne Ploumen, The Netherlands Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, speaking at the launch of a three business initiatives said, Ghana needs to have a competitive and strong agriculture and vegetable sector, which should be driven by quality products.

The initiatives are aimed at developing and enhancing the production of quality vegetables. The initiative affords the opportunity to vegetable farmers in Ghana to benefit from The Netherland Embassy's support through GhanaVeg, to enable them boost production for both the domestic market and International market.

She said the initiative fits well into the Dutch policy of trade and aid, using innovative approaches in reducing food insecurity by engaging the private sector. She said a conducive environment should be created for business and private sector development.

“This will be the surest ways of solving youth unemployment and food insecurity problems for sustainable growth,” she added. She said the Dutch government is gradually reducing its aid to Ghana and refusing its efforts on building and strengthening trade relations and private sector initiatives.

The Minister said agriculture and in particular the vegetable sectors are an exemplary sector, where Ghana and The Netherlands have much to offer each other. Ms Ploumen said The Netherlands is in the top three of the world’s biggest exporters, while Ghana has a huge potential for delivering top quality vegetable to both the domestic and international market.

Ms Catherine Krobo-Edusei, Managing Director of Eden Tree Limited, noted that the fund would enable the company establish partnership with Tikola Limited to deliver their best to the sector. She said the sector is faced with unavailability of quality seeds.

Ms Catherine Krobo-Edusei said her outfit would assist small holder farmers in rural areas by offering them training, seed input and assist them meet GhanaVeg farm specifications. Mr Kor Ritsema from Tikola Limited said the company has for the past years been struggling to establish its base, and that GhanaVeg Private Initiative would give it the opportunity to expand their farm base.

He gave the assurance that with the funding from The Netherlands Embassy through GhanaVeg, the company would raise at least 10,000 farmers and be able to make more revenue.