Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), a grass-roots food advocacy movement of Ghanaians both home and abroad, is advocating for local farmers to be empowered to feed the beverage industry with organic harvest.

The organisation made this known in the lead up towards the third Ghana Beverage Awards 2018 organised by Global Media Alliance.

Speaking on the need to employ raw materials in Ghana for a sustainable beverage industry, Communications Director for Food Sovereignty Ghana, Edwin Baffour said;

“It is expedient that beverage producers consider building and sustaining stakeholder relationship with Ghanaian farmers so as to patronize their produce to create an avenue for economic growth. Farmers need a ready market for their farm produce while beverage producers need raw materials to make healthy beverages for the market. Why don’t we create a synergy between these groups of people so that Ghanaians can get into an eco-friendly business which is economically rewarding as well?”, he stated.

“Research shows that the world is moving to a future of organic foods and in the light of this, local farmers should be encouraged to produce more organic crops to meet the demand of the market in anticipation of what would be the mad rush for organic foods and beverages,”.

Mr. Baffour said positioning Ghana as a hub for organic food and beverages will be the healthy choice for the world, help control expenditure by manufacturers, open up the country for investment and tourism and at the same time keep farmers in business. These benefits will enable farmers live a more decent life.

“The quest by Enterprises to make profit should not drive us to kill biodiversity and initiative of poor farmers by employing genetically modified organisms which are advantageous to some big multinationals who want to make huge profit in the short run. When we lose biodiversity, our food and life are threatened.”

The Ghana Beverage Awards recognises beverage producers and their brands excelling in various specialties. GBA rewards companies’ adherence to high quality standards and their overall contribution to the Ghanaian economy. Partners are Consumer Protection Agency, Food Research Institute, Food and Beverage Association of Ghana, Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.