Ten Ghanaian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in the cashew nut and oil palm value chains have secured a share of the GH¢157.94 million (CHF9 million) grant under the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme (GPSCP) Phase II.

The SMEs are Agroking Ltd, Bioko Treats, Flexy Foods Ltd, Gensap Ventures, Homefoods Processing and Cannery Ltd, Kaskazini Limited, N.H. Natural Foods Supplies Ltd, Norpalm Ghana Limited, Rosswood Company Limited and SPB Agro-Processing Limited.

They received between GH¢300,000 and GH¢3 million to enhance processing, market linkages, service provision, sector associations, access to finance and skills development in the value chain.

The GPSCP is a five-year programme implemented by the Swiss government in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MOTAI).

The project is being delivered through three components – strategic partnership with the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA); the establishment of a fund as a rapid response mechanism for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs); and the development of partnerships with the private sector.

At the grant award signing ceremony in Accra, the Value Chain Lead at GPSCP, Stephen Debre, said the project sought to contribute to productivity in the cashew and oil palm value chains in the country.

“We are currently in the second year of implementation of the five-year programme with support of CHF9 million from the Swiss government in collaboration with our two ministries,” he said.

Mr Debre said TCDA entered a strategic cooperation partnership with the GPSCP to strengthen the authority.

The Value Chain Lead said guided by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the programme would support TCDA with its mandate of regulating the cashew and oil palm sectors and facilitate high-impact reform initiatives.

He said through the project a rapid response mechanism fund was established to support MDAs, adding that the fund was to enable the agencies to access finance to support and align reform initiatives that would benefit the markets of both value chains.

Govt committed

The acting Chief Director of MoFA, Paul Siameh, said the government remained committed to creating an enabling environment that fostered investment and growth in the agricultural sector.

He said through the strategic tree crop development programme, a sub-programme under the Feed Ghana Programme, the government planned to enhance production capabilities in key commercial crops such as shea, oil palm, cashew, coffee, rubber, coconut, mango and citrus.

He said plans were underway to establish a cashew development board to regulate standards for cashew production, pricing and export while promoting the growth of the cashew industry.

Swiss investment

The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Benin and Togo, Simone Giger, said the beneficiary SMEs were innovative in the cashew and oil palm industry.

He said the Swiss government was investing through Niras and Proforest Africa to demonstrate its commitment to strengthen the agriculture value chain.

“Private participation and partnerships are very important to boost Ghana’s agriculture value chain,” he said.