Govt pledges support to private businesses
Resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged government’s support for GB Foods 6,000-acre investment in tomato production in the Afram Plains in the Eastern Region.
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He said the 40 million euro investment had the potential to create jobs and ensure food security to improve on the fortunes of the country.
The project was as a result of a successful pilot project of a 20-hectare tomato farm in the Afram Plains.
President Akufo-Addo made the pledge when the President of Agrolimen, the parent company of GB Foods Africa, Artur Carulla Mas, and some board members of the company, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House in Accra.
Delight
President Akufo-Addo expressed delight in the decision by GB Foods to locate their Africa headquarters in Ghana and also hold its global Board of Directors meeting in Accra.
President Akufo-Addo said it was in the mutual interest of the country and the company to have policies that would grow businesses, adding “I am very excited about the possibility of this 6,000-acre farm on the Afram Plains. I can assure you that we will do whatever we can to ensure that your investment becomes successful”.
Commendation
The President commended the company for engaging in what he described as “excellent and inspiring” decision by taking advantage of the friendly business environment in the country to invest.
He said the government was a firm believer in the private sector, adding “we are not socialist. We don’t believe in central planning or any of that”.
President Akufo-Addo said over the years, the country had been depending on Burkina Faso for the supply of tomatoes and, therefore, expressed the hope that the situation would soon change.
He said the government believed the way forward for development was to have both local and foreign private companies like GB Foods invest in the country to create opportunities for the people.
“We would like to make it clear that we are ready to support the growth of businesses such as yours,” the President said.
Appeal
Mr Mas appealed for government support not only in subsidies, but also import quotas and tariffs which, he said, other countries were implementing to boost the growth of their local industries.
He said the company’s strategy was to harness and work with local talents and resources, adding that Ghana was at the core of the company’s operations, the reason it had invested over 20 million euros in the country in the last six years.
Mr Mas added that the company’s strategy was aligned with the government’s one-district, one-factory policy.
He further said his outfit had 40-year experience in the tomatoes business in Spain, including Nigeria in recent times, and that the pilot in Afram Plain had yielded successful results for which they were now scaling up.
Mr Mas said the project was not only meant to ensure food security, but that it also encompasses industrialisation, skills training and transfer, job creation and climate mitigation.
He described Ghana as the highest consumers of tomatoes per capita in Africa, and that as a leading tomatoes manufacturer in the continent, the company would combine its expertise and leadership in the sector, coupled with the good leadership in Ghana to make the necessary impact.
