Nestle Ghana Limited has undertaken a number of initiatives to help improve the quality of cocoa and maize production in the country.
The Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, Mrs Freda Duplan, who announced this in Accra when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Hanna Tetteh, paid a visit to the company, said the company had, for instance, developed the ‘Nestle Cocoa Plan’ under which 13,000 farmers had been trained to produce quality cocoa beans.
Maize farmers, she said, had also been trained to produce quality maize, adding that presently. only two per cent of all locally sourced maize were rejected as sub-standard by the company as compared to more than 50 per cent rejections in previous years.
Mrs Duplan said the company had also introduced the ‘Nestle Healthy Kids’, under which children are taught healthy nutrition. So far 14,000 pupils have been educated in selected schools across the country, while 360 teachers have also been trained.
According to her, Nestle Ghana was not only concerned with making profit but also ensuring that it developed its workforce, including farmers.
Ms Tetteh commended the management and staff of Nestle Ghana Limited for its continued support towards the success of the country’s economy.
She said at a time when businesses were going through challenging times with some folding up, Nestle had kept faith with the people and continued to maintain its international standard and quality of its products.
Ms Tetteh commended Nestle for sourcing most of its raw products from local farmers, saying it would help improve the income levels of peasant farmers.
According to her, the government was working around the clock to ensure it created a favourable environment for industries to thrive in the country.