The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is working with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Attorney-General’s Department on a Legislative Instrument (LI) to allow Soya Bean exporters to obtain a permit from the sector Ministry.
Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto announced it when he recently paid a working visit to Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region to interact with some poultry farmers in the area.
A letter to that effect, according to Dr Afriyie Akoto, has been written to the Minister of Trade and Industry who has also requested the Attorney-General to draft an LI for people to get permits from the MoFA before exporting Soya Beans.
He said the LI would also seek to check capital flight of the export of that non-traditional crop because it would ensure proceeds earned by exporters could be invested in the local economy to contribute to national economic growth.
Dr Afriyie Akoto gave the assurance of the government’s commitment to give much attention to the poultry industry to prevent it from collapsing.
Soya Beans are mixed with maize in the production of poultry feed but its production to maize availability was lower when the Akufo-Addo’s government assumed power, he said.
According to Dr. Afriyie Akoto, just 50,000 metric tons were being produced domestically, but now with the Planting for Food and Jobs (PfFJs) intervention, production has moved up to 200,000 metric tons as at last year, and Ghana was now able to export the commodity.
He said there was therefore the need to diagnose and address the fundamentals in the poultry sector to make the industry vibrant and expressed the hope that achieving that dream could make the enclave of Dormaa Municipal and the Dormaa East to producers of poultry products to feed the West African sub-regional market.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the country’s potential to produce soya beans led the government to include it among the first six crops for the PfFJs initiative to generate enough feed locally for the production of poultry feed at a much cheaper rate.
Touching on the poultry laboratory at Dormaa-Ahenkro, which was put up during ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration but had suffered years of neglect, he gave the assurance he would ensure it would be factored into the 2021 budget for the provision of requisite equipment and resources to revamp it to boost the progress of the poultry industry in the area.
