Fiifi Kwetey, outgoing Minister of State in-charge of Finance and Allied Institutions, has disclosed that Ghana has an unmet demand of 35,000 tons of palm oil.
He said currently the country produces about 243,852 tons of palm oil and stressed the need for government to put adequate measures in place to meet the deficit.
Mr. Kwetey, who was speaking at the launch of Solidaridad West Africa SWAPP Incubator and Access to Finance (SIAF) in Accra, said the estimated unmet demand in the ECOWAS sub-region alone is 850,000 tons.
�This is a huge opportunity for Ghana to develop the sector and take advantage of the deficit in production,� he said.
Mr Kwetey said that there were many challenges in the sector that must be addressed.
He said many smallholder farmers lack professional farming and organizational skills, adding that some of them were not aware of best practices.
Mr Kwetey said other farmers do not know how to use a variety of seedlings to increase their productivity.
The output per hectare of farms is low resulting in poor returns and limited investments, thereby impacting marginally on the overall economic situation of producers, he said.
These challenges, he said, also affect farmers� ability to access financing.
�The private and public sectors must develop models that engender sustainability.�
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