GEPA taps into economic value of coconut

The transformative role coconut plays in job creation along coastal communities in the country has been highlighted by Chief Executive Officer-Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) Osafohene Dr. Afua Asabea Asare I.

Speaking at the fourth International Coconut Festival Ghana (ICFG) held in Accra, she reiterated the versatile and numerous usages of coconut across industries – earning it the tag name ‘tree of life’.

From food and beverages to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and even construction materials, coconut is central to many value-added industries.

In fact, the coconut sector is providing significant employment opportunities and contributing to rural development, poverty reduction and foreign exchange earnings. Coconut is now more than just a crop, it represents a pathway to sustainable livelihoods, innovation and employment for thousands across the country

The authority therefore plans on building a robust coconut industry in the country. It plans to achieve this by enhancing capacity-building, research and technological advancement, ensuring that Ghanaian coconut products remain competitive and sustainable.

Ghana is currently the leading coconut exporter in Africa and 12th globally, producing over 500,000 metric tonnes annually. In 2022, the country generated US$15 billion from coconut exports, with projections of reaching US$ 25.3 billion by 2029.

Having realised the growing demand for coconut globally, in 2017 GEPA launched the coconut revitalisation intervention with a clear objective of reviving the then-ailing coconut industry to improve the value chain’s supply capacity.

The Authority has made modest but quite significant investments in the sector since 2017, by procuring and distributing disease-tolerant coconut seedlings to coconut farmers across the major coconut growing areas of the Volta, Eastern, Western, Central and Asante Regions.

Over a million seedlings have been distributed, generating about 350,000 employment opportunities within the coconut value chain.

The coconut industry has grown into one of the most dynamic sectors, contributing significantly to the export base and touching the lives of many families and communities in positive ways.

Indeed, coconut is one of the prioritised sectors in the National Export development strategy, providing significant employment opportunities and contributing to rural development, poverty reduction and foreign exchange earnings.