FDA urges Ghana’s food producers to register products

GHANA – The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana, has urged producers in Ghanaian industries to register their products with the FDA as mandated by law.

The Volta and Oti Regional Director of the FDA, Mr. Gorden Akurugu, notified that any product without an FDA permit could not be imported or exported hence the need for all product owners to collaborate with the FDA to get rid of unregistered products in the system.

Mr. Akurugu gave the advice in an engagement dubbed “Agri-Business Financing” organized by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) as part of activities lined up in the ongoing Volta Trade and Investment Fair in Ho, the Volta Regional capital.

AGI is the leading voice of manufacturing industries in the country. Currently, it consists of around 2,000 members made up of SMEs and large-scale industries.

He further disclosed the FDA has moved from the zonal operations to the regional levels and that it has been decentralized to enable smooth products registration without delay as it was in the past. He indicated, the FDA has a package with the Enterprise Agency called ‘progressive licensing’ where a product for a starter would be taken care of by the enterprise agency.

On delay in registrations and the cumbersome nature of the registration processes, Mr. Akurugu said the process was a requirement and that all the stages involved must be carried out for quality purposes. He also revealed that plans were underway to move their operations to the district levels.

The ‘Agri-Business Financing’ workshop brought together members from the Agriculture Department, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Maphlix, the Free Zones, farmers, business owners, and students.

Mr. Patrick Mawusi Morttey, the Head of Domestic Corporate at GCB Bank, stated that agriculture is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy providing about 80 per cent of the food requirements in Ghana.

“Agriculture contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with about 35 per cent from 2010 to 2015, but there was a decline to 18.24 per cent at the end of 2020,” he said.

Mr. William Dzamefe, the Volta Regional Director of Agriculture, disclosed that the Volta Region was the leading producer of rice in the country, according to News Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited, a food production and processing company, Mr. Felix Kamasah Mawuli, , who is also the President of Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association, encouraged the youth to venture into agribusiness.