USAID reviews progress on pilot food safety system in Ghana
The pilot system’s objective is to mitigate and identify when and where food safety and quality issues occur.
Developing a sustainable traceability system supported lifting of the ban on exports of three kinds of gourds, chili pepper and eggplant from Ghana to the European Union in December 2017.
A forum on the subject brought together the Government of Ghana, development partners, farmers, and the private sector to get feedback on the pilot system.
George Oduro, deputy minister of horticulture from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Kevin Sharp, USAID/Ghana economic growth office director, both said it was important to develop an internationally-recognized food safety system to strengthen commercial trade in Ghana.
“Our aim is to ensure that we achieve measurable impact and sustainable results - this means more competitive Ghanaian products being traded worldwide. We know this goal would not be possible without the commitment from the Government of Ghana and both public and private actors,” said Sharp.
In Ghana, USAID supports the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to improve access to markets for smallholder farmers, through the US Government’s Trade Africa Initiative.
This work strengthens trade relations between the US and Ghana and improves the sanitary and phytosanitary compliance system for Ghanaian fruits and vegetables.
