BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO GHANA PAYS OFFICIAL VISIT TO BONO REGION

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The British High Commissioner, Mrs. Harriet Thompson has on Wednesday, 21^st February 2024, paid a courtesy call on the Bono Regional Minister, Hon. Justina Owusu-Banahene.

The High Commissioner’s visit to the Region was aimed at exploring its economic potentials and how they can help boost trade in Ghana.

Mrs. Thompson was accompanied on the visit to the region by Miss Zoe Robson and Cecil Adrian Sampson, officials of the Commission, to explore and get herself acquainted with the economic potential of the region.

Hon. Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister in her address appealed to the High Commissioner and Ghana’s development partners to assist in adding value to cashew fruits and nuts for job creation and poverty reduction.

She expressed regret that 889,000 metric tons of cashew fruits went to waste in the region annually due to the lack of processing plants to ensure value addition to the fruits and nuts.

She said the region had about 74,000 acres of cashew plantation, which produced 88,900 beans annually, but the lack of processing facilities, disjointed value chain, price fluctuation, and poor farm management culture were impeding the sector’s growth.

Another key economic potential of the area was the poultry sector, which had more than 1,160 farmers, with a poultry stock of about 8,000,000.

However, the lack of a laboratory, high cost of poultry feed, drugs as well as price competition with imported products remained inimical to the growth of the industry.

Mrs. Thompson said she was impressed by the economic prospects of the region, particularly the poultry sector, and pledged the UK’s commitment to boosting trade in Ghana through value addition.

Mr. Dennis Amenga Abugri, the Bono Regional Director, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), said the region’s farmer population was around 153,000, with only 107 extension officers, thereby contributing to challenges in technology dissemination.

He said the region mostly cultivates maize, cassava, yam, plantain, cashew, cocoa, and mango as its major economic crops.

Mr. Abugri said the impact of climate change was well felt and slowing down food productivity in the region.