Sheanuts producers appeal for regulation of industry

Wa, Dec. 20, GNA - Members of Sunbawiera Sheanuts Producers Association at Kperisi, a farming community in Wa Municipality have called on management of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to speed up regulation of the industry to bring sanity into it. "Sheanuts production can alleviate the people of Northern, Upper East and West Regions from extreme poverty provided management of Ghana Cocoa Board see the industry as a great potential for the economic growth of the three Regions and offered the needed attention like cocoa," Alhaji Imoru Ayitey, Chairman of the association said. He was speaking to newsmen at Wa after addressing a meeting of the association at Kperisi.

Alhaji Ayitey noted that the disorganised nature of the industry made it difficult for producers to benefit from their toil and destroy the industry if measures were not instituted to arrest the situation. Mr Yaw Agyei Acheampong, a Service Provider in the industry said Ministry of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives planned to organise training programmes for the producers to acquire skills to enable them improve quality of their produce for the international market but could not materialise.

He said the Co-ordinator of Sheanuts at COCOBOD was preparing a manual to regulate the industry next year and urged producers to organise themselves into groups or associations to benefit from the regulated industry.