Agriculture Ministry pursues reforms to check export of bad vegetables

Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is implementing reforms to curb export of bad vegetables into the European Union (EU) market to avoid possible ban.

The reforms include progressive upgrading of the manual traceability system into an electronic traceability system and improving the bin section along the value chain (from farm to pack house to the point of exit).

The reforms will also see the assignment of two officers to each member of 100 identified active exporters to ensure close inspection to provide technical support from the point of production to exit among many others.

These measures are being implemented as a result of recent announcement on the suspension of four vegetable species namely; capsicum, solanum, luffa and leafy vegetables to the EU market.

Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr. Afriye Akoto, confirmed the Ministry has temporarily suspended the export of four (4) vegetables to the international market.

The decision, he said, is to improve the integrity of the regulatory system and ensure conformity to international standards.

Four years ago, Ghana suffered a major setback in the horticultural sub-sector following an indefinite ban on the country’s vegetables by the European Union (EU) to its market.

The latest reforms are a response to detection of harmful organisms on Ghana’s vegetable exports resulting in several notifications from the EU.

“The condition for lifting the ban was contingent on the ability of Ghana to meet the phytosanitary requirements of the EU,” Mr. Afriye Akoto stated.

He explained that on assumption of office in 2017, Government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture undertook comprehensive review of the existing plant protection and regulatory system, to fully appreciate and understand the issues.

The Minister pointed out that to reflect Government’s commitment to the cause, an Inter-ministerial Task Force under the Chairmanship of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture was constituted to direct and coordinate efforts to improve the regulatory system.

The Task Force worked to get the ban lifted 2018 through building skills of inspectors, provision of essential equipment, training of exporters, improving environment for inspection, updating standard operation procedures and development of a protocol for vegetable production among others.

The measures improved the phytosanitary conditions as the number of notifications from the EU reduced from 149 in 2015 to 53 in 2018.