The Agric Ministry has presented a bill to Parliament to enable it to set up an Authority to regulate the production and export of four major tree crops including rubber, mango, Shea and Cashew.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Dr. Sagre Bambangi disclosed this at Citi FM/TV‘s Ghana Rising Conference last Thursday.
According to him, the move forms part of efforts to increase the exports of the crops and reduce the countries over-reliance on cocoa as the country’s major cash crop.
“The issue of relying so much on cocoa as a mono-crop for export is long overdue. And there is the need for us to strengthen our diversification,” he said when he was asked to mention specific things the government will do to boost the agricultural sector in 2020.
He explained further that the bill will set up the governance structure for the regulation of the four tree crops.
Although he could not give a specific timeline for achieving this, the Deputy Minister was hopeful the bill will be passed before the end of the year.
“Once a bill is in Parliament, it’s the property of Parliament. And you cannot necessarily estimate the time that it will be out. But we are hoping that it should be out before the end of the year. When it is out, that structure will exist,” Dr. Bambangi noted.
