MiDA revives horticultural industry

22 September 2008Posted to the web 22 September 2008

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) on Friday, in Accra, sealed an agreement worth US$ 2.171 million with the Sea-Freight Pineapple and Exporters Group (SPEG), as a grant to help revive the horticulture industry.
The amount would be used to purchase pre-coolers which would be positioned at the farms of members under SPEG to store their produce that has immediately been harvested to protect their value for export.
In addition to the grant facility, a four-member delegation from the Group would this week emplane to the United States of America to have discussions with Chikita (one of the biggest importers of horticultural produce in the world), on how best to put the sector back on track to raise standards of living whilst maximizing profit for the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of MiDA, Mr. Martin Esson-Benjamin and the Chairman of SPEG, Mr. Korang-Amoako signed the agreement to that effect.
According to Mr. Esson-Benjamin, the grant facility from his outfit was made possible because of their commitment to raise standard of living in the country through the support of farmers in the country.
"The potential in the horticultural industry is huge and our support to this industry is immense. Our intension is to strengthen and move forward the industry by given farmers value for their produce", noted Mr. Esson-Benjamin.
In all, 27 companies would benefit from the facility. The amount would be released at the end of this month and would be shared among seven (7) companies who have satisfied the Group's requirements for the first phase of the project.