Under the second Ghana-Spanish Protocol Agreement the Spanish Government has offered Ghana with a seven million Euro loan facility to construct and equip six cold stores with refrigeration facilities in some selected fishing communities in the country. Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Hon. Kwesi Ahwoi Minister has announced the proposal when inaugurating an 11-member reconstituted Fisheries Commission in Accra.
According to him the government had approved and sourcing for funds to construct two fishing harbours and 12 landing sites, estimated at about 200 million dollars, as part of measures to address the challenges of safety and post-harvest losses in the industry. He told that the idea is not only to provide healthy, fast growing and disease resistant fingerlings, but also to set the standards for the private sector to follow.
Hon. Ahwoi explained that the information available indicated that the fisheries sector contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the country. Fish provides the Ghanaian consumer with about 60 percent of animal protein needs and is consumed by almost all groups of the society as a daily staple. However, Hon. Ahwoi said, Ghana has been able to produce 48 percent over the past 10 years of its fish requirement.
Hon Ahwoi called on members of the Commission to enforce the fisheries laws and institute measures for monitoring, controlling and surveillance of Ghana’s territorial waters. A former Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Fisheries), and Chairman of the Commission, Mike Kwabena Akyeampong said with the diversity of qualifications, expertise and experiences of the members they would improve operations within the fishing industry.
