GEPA To Boost One District One Factory Initiative

The National export strategy is geared towards the identification, development and promotion of at least one exportable product per District to synchronise government's flagship policy of One District, One Factory industrialisation concept.

Madam Gifty Keenan, Chief Executive officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), said this when she Addressed Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and their supporting staff at a day's workshop in Takoradi

She said the implementation of the National Export Strategy, through the One District, One Exportable product, must therefore complement as well as feed the One-District, One-Factory industrialisation concept.

The workshop, was to among others, augment the performance of existing export products of the Western Region and identify additional ones with significant export potentials at the District level.

Madam Klenam said it was the vision of GEPA to establish Regional offices with District representatives who would see to the full implementation of the one-District-one Export product concept adding that "we are looking forward to strengthening our presence in this Region to be able to unearth its full potentials".

The CEO stated that GEPA was poised to play a pivotal role in the export value chain by developing and promoting exports to achieve its set target of exports worth US$10billion.

She entreated the MMDCEs to bring their expertise to bare to select a product or service with immense export potential from each District of the Region which she noted was vast and blessed with immense potentials for Agri-business, services and related value chains.

Madam Klenam noted that with the vast land and forest resources, "this should challenge us to do everything within our power to transform this region into an export powerhouse".

She cautioned that though Ghana had discovered oil in commercial quantities,"Non Traditional Exports provide more jobs and security than the oil will do".

The CEO said GEPA had so far visited eight Regions in Ghana with fantastic responses 'giving me the inclination that this nation has all it takes to be the export hub of the sub-region.

A Deputy Director of Agricultural Extension Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Theophilus Osei Owusu who spoke on "Extension Services-A Crtical Tool for Supporting Production of Quality Products for the Export Market" said his outfit had intensified its services through the provision of relevant information and update the knowledge of farmers on modern technology.

He said his outfit would liaise with the decentralized directorates, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) the private sector, input dealers, as well as farmer-based organisations through the Research Extension and Liaison Committees (RELCs) to plan for Agricultural development in the country through training and field demonstrations.

Mr Osei Owusu said the service had intensified its activities through relevant policies, technical backstopping of the Regions, coordination, monitoring and evaluation to enhance Agricultural activities in the country.