Let’s pay attention to mangoes

From the ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia to that of the Indus Valley, Egypt, Ghana and the Inca of south America, agriculture had been the backbone for the subsistence of those societies. No wonder many of those ancient civilisations sprang up along the banks of rivers and in valleys where conditions supported agricultural growth and productivity.

Today, agriculture has evolved from its subsistence nature to a more complex production process, with only a part of the practice taking place on the farm. Agriculture has entirely changed from being a way of life to a profession where technical know how plays a very huge role.

Agriculture currently accounts for about 20 per cent of Ghana’s GDP and employs more than half of the workforce. The non-traditional export subsector of the agricultural sector plays a critical role in Ghana’s economy, as it is one of the principal sources of foreign exchange generation and has seen considerable growth in revenue over the last decade.

Mango exports, for instance, have surged, with Ghana capturing about 18 per cent of the European market, and there is still more potential for growth. Globally, the import value of mangoes increased by seven per cent per annum on average from 2012 to 2016, with numerous countries realising good growth performances.

The Daily Graphic notes the many opportunities that exist for Ghana in Eastern and Southern European countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, which both reached 22 per cent average annual growth during the period 2012-2016, with Spain having import growth of 14 per cent and Portugal 13 per cent within the same period.

But farmers and others in the mango value chain have expressed the fear that if a dossier on self-imposed protocols that ensure the required quality is not prepared and submitted to the European Union by September 1, 2019, they are likely to face export restrictions on fresh fruits and vegetables.

In this light, the Daily Graphic joins participants at the fourth Mango Week to call on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to direct its Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate to work with the Mango Round Table and other associations to prepare the dossier to meet the September 1 deadline.

But for Ghana to be able to compete with the Latin American supply in these countries where production levels are very high, with a developed infrastructure and with farmers enjoying economies of scale, we urge the ministries of Agriculture, Trade and Industry and other bodies to put in place the necessary systems to certify and monitor nursery operators in order to ensure the provision of clean and healthy planting materials, while we challenge farmers and exporters to commit themselves to the application of good agricultural practices to ensure the production of quality produce.

We recall the recent ban on banana exports from Ghana to the EU and call on the financial institutions to advance loans to enable farmers to produce to standards.

The government is also implored to put in place appropriate support mechanisms to combat the Bacterial Blackspot (BBS) menace that threatens to destroy the mango industry.

This can only be successful when there is good research and we urge the government to spearhead research into issues of the mango sector and commit itself to the allocation of appropriate funding for it. It is good that players in the industry have shown a commitment to follow the GlobalG.A.P. & the Ghana Green Label best practice of sorting and grading the harvested mangoes.

With the onset of the African Continental Free Trade Area, among others, we believe the sky is the limit for Ghana to take advantage to add mangoes to its main exports to reap in more foreign exchange for development.