Stakeholders from the regulatory agencies and the private sector have commended the Ghana Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) project for building their knowledge and capacity towards effective warehouse inspection.

The International Finance Corporation Ghana (IFC) WRS project is being implemented in nine regions of the country with financial support from the Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

WRS is a technical assistance and advisory services project aimed at setting up a well-functioning, regulated system that is expected to facilitate an increased access to credit and structured markets to small holder farmers.

The intervention focuses on supporting a well-functioning WRS as a necessary pre-condition for the successful operations of the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX).

The project addresses WRS on a policy and regulatory level, system level, including technical advisory, training, capacity building and awareness raising for various stakeholders in the public and private sector.

Commendation

At the end of a two-day virtual training workshop, participants observed that the training had helped them understand technical, regulatory and managerial issues relating to effective warehouse inspection, administration and management.

They explained that the knowledge acquired would enable them improve their various warehouse related activities.

“In fact, we have been doing inspections, but this exercise has given us more details as to what we should do better. We have realized that there is more to do and we have learnt so much.

Going forward, we hope that our responsibilities will be performed better, Mr. Derry Dontoh from Food and Agriculture Department of the Ghana Standard Authority said.

The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Grains Council, Ms Emily Boahen, for her part, indicated that the training on the warehouse operations presents many prospects/options for her organisation to enhance its business opportunities, thereby improving the financial status of both the organisation and its members.

“I think this training is really helpful and it’s an eye opener to what we can do as a private sector. If we come together to improve our structures and organisation, we can conduct such trainings and even warehouse receipting can be profitable to the private sector,” she emphasised.

IFC
The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

It works in more than 100 countries, using its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.

In the 2020 fiscal year, it invested US$22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.