4th Ghana Mango Week ends on high note

The 4th Ghana Mango Week took place from 15-19th July 2019 in Accra under the topic “Ghana’s Green Gold – Opportunities in Value Addition”.

The one-week event was organised by the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE) with support from the Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (GIZ-MOAP).

The first day featured the official opening of the event and the exhibition by dignitaries of the Ministry of Food & Agriculture (MoFA), the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MoTI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Association of Ghanaian Industries (AGI), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Ghana Chamber of Agribusiness, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG). The occasion was also graced by representatives of the European Union, the German Embassy and a wide range of private-sector stakeholders.

The second, third and fourth days were dedicated to seminars on various topics of interest to the mango value chain. Presentations were done by international and national resource persons in the selected topics. Alongside the seminars, about 50 companies and public institutions showcased the different products and services at an exhibition.

On the last day of the Mango Week participants visited a packhouse and two large processing companies (Blue Skies and HPW). In the build-up to the Mango Week FAGE organised regional study tours for school children in Sunyani, Tamale and Somanya to farms and processing facilities in the respective regions.

As an outcome of these constructive and fruitful deliberations and exchange, the participants of the 4th Ghana Mango Week agree on the following issues:

• We commend the government for their efforts to promote the mango industry through initiatives such as Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) and One District – One Factory (1D1F).

Production

• We urge MoFA to direct PPRSD to work with the Mango Round Table and other associations to prepare a dossier on self-imposed protocols ensuring the required quality, to be submitted to the European Union by 1st September 2019 in order to avoid export restrictions of fresh fruits and vegetables.

• We urge relevant authorities to put in place the necessary systems to certify and monitor nursery operators in order to ensure the provision of clean and healthy planting material.

• We commit to apply good agricultural practices on mango farms, especially related to pest & disease management (BBS, Fruit Fly, Anthracnose etc.).

• We demand appropriate products for value chain finance from financial institutions that enable farmers to invest in better farming practices.

• We urge government to put in place appropriate support mechanisms to combat the Bacterial Blackspot (BBS) menace that is threatening to destroy the industry. Government could consider the possibility of working through ECOWAS in combatting BBS at regional level.

• We urge government in partnership with the private sector to put together a consortium of research institutions dedicated to conduct research into various issues of the mango sector and to allocate appropriate funding for it.

• We request research institutions to conduct applied research in close collaboration with mango associations and processing companies to identify additional varieties that can extend the harvesting period in Ghana and that are suitable for the various mango-based products. The research should also consider the effect of the different agro-ecological and agro-climatic conditions on the different varieties as well as production seasons.

• We stress the important role of standards at producer (e.g. GlobalG.A.P. and Ghana Green Label) and processor level (e.g. HACCP) to ensure product quality and to gain market access.

• We acknowledge the important role of pollinators to ensure agro-biodiversity and to generate additional income.

• We commit to reduce post-harvest losses by better coordinating the timing of flower induction and harvesting within the different mango growing areas.

Processing



• We commit to follow the GlobalG.A.P. & Ghana Green Label best practice of sorting and grading the harvested mangoes according to the different market segments (fresh exports, local processed, local fresh).

• We understand that a regional perspective is needed for processing companies to source mangoes all year round.

• We urge all stakeholders to introduce local and international innovations in processing equipment that would improve processing efficiency.

• We recognise the importance of reducing waste by moving towards total commodity utilization for mango.

• We urge all stakeholders to be innovative with regards to product development to stimulate local value addition for mango.

• We urge local and international equipment fabricators to produce processing equipment according to the high hygienic standards of the food processing industry.

• We emphasise the importance of environmentally friendly packaging material.

• We demand more adequate financing mechanisms to setup or upgrade processing facilities.

Marketing



• We reiterate the need to make informed decisions when entering into the mango sector, e.g. through the study of market analyses for the various mango-based products.

• We acknowledge Ghana’s current strengths (dried, fresh cuts) and potential opportunities (puree, fresh fruits, …) for different mango-based products on international markets (EU, US, Middle East).

• We recognise the need for further market studies about regional & continental market opportunities, especially in the context of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

• We recognize the opportunities of the organic market and the current challenges of the Ghanaian mango sector to penetrate it.

Organisational Setup



• We oblige ourselves to strengthen the collaborations of farmers under the umbrella of associations and as part of the newly established Horticulture Authority.

• We commit to promote the participation of women entrepreneurs in the mango sector, both at production and processing level as well as in the area of input and service provision.

• We pledge to further showcase the opportunities of the mango sector to the youth.