The 4th International Coconut Festival Ghana has commenced at the Accra International Conference Centre under the theme; “Empowering Lives Through Coconut — Innovation, Employment, and Sustainable Livelihoods.”

The three-day event is organized by the African Coconut Group and sponsored by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA), and the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC).

Speaking during the opening ceremony held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), the CEO of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, expressed confidence in Ghana’s coconut industry’s future and export potential.

She said GEPA is collaborating with key stakeholders in the coconut industry to create a supportive ecosystem to accelerate its growth.

“GEPA has made a modest but quite significant investment in the sector since 2017 by procuring and distributing disease-tolerant coconut seedlings to coconut farmers across the major coconut growing regions of the Volta, Eastern, Western, Central and Asante. So far, we have distributed over a million seedlings covering fifteen thousand six and twenty-five acres generating about three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) employment within the coconut value chain.”

Dr. Asabea Asare added that GEPA is on course to achieving its target of generating $25.3 billion by 2029 through the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) which was launched in 2020.

In partnership with the Ghana Exim Bank and SOLIDARIDAD, this year’s event activities include a trade exhibition, seminar and mentorship session for young people and women in coconut, economic and technical negotiations, networking for participants, farm visits, and engagements with International participants.

The ACG organised the first-ever International Coconut Festival Ghana in 2019. The event brought together major players within the coconut value chain to promote the business.

The government of Ghana added coconut to the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA), which was established in 2019 and mandated to develop and regulate the production, processing, marketing, and export of selected crops.

The non-traditional export figures for 2022 indicated the coconut sector’s substantial economic contribution. Notably, earnings from both fresh and processed coconuts reached $6.3 million and $6 million respectively.