Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu on Friday tasked management of the Export Development Agricultural and Industrial Fund (EDAIF) to adopt transformational measures that would make the Fund more relevant to the agricultural sector growth.

The Minister also asked stakeholders to explore plausible ways EDAIF could contribute to the increased growth of the manufacturing sector for further expansion of the economy.

Mr Iddrisu said this during a stakeholder forum on the Export Trade, Agriculture and Industrial Development Bill 2013. According to him the future of EDAIF was critical to the transformation of the agricultural and the manufacturing sectors.

He said management of the Fund must explore alternative source of funding, beyond the traditional sources, to be able to support agriculture and manufacturing sectors’ growth and development, saying “EDAIF can no longer rely on divestiture proceeds.”

The Minister also called on the management of EDAIF to review their lending rates to make it flexible for private businesses venturing the sectors to access.

Nana Owusu Asare, President of AGI, said the government needed to take a second look at taxes imposed on imported raw materials, because players in the manufacturing industry were complaining about the high cost.

He said most items imported were cheaper, which was affecting the expansion of local businesses and creating lopsided competition amongst players in the Industry.