Ghanaian company begins Chilli pepper export

The Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending Project (GIRSAL) has commenced the export of chilli pepper to the European Union (EU) Market.

The Bird's Eye chilli variety was cultivated and harvested under a pilot project rolled out to grow and export chilli pepper using shade net house technology to meet the phytosanitary requirements of the EU market.

Planting activities started at the Agri Impact Greenhouse enclave at Dawhenya in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region, on  May 17, 2023, and harvesting and export began on July 24, 2023.

The first harvest from a 0.4-hectare net house at the Agri Impact greenhouse enclave in Dawhenya yielded 80 boxes of freshly harvested chilli weighing over 400 kilogrammes and was airlifted to the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday.

The production cycle from the farm is expected to last for one year.

USAID

Speaking to Journalists, the Director of Agribusiness at GIRSAL, Samuel Yeboah, said the initiative by GIRSAL, with support from the USAID Ghana Trade and Investment Activity, VegPro Kenya, and other partners, including the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD), formed part of a five-year strategic plan to increase export and reduce inputs, using the organisation’s credit risk guarantee.

He said following challenges identified in the vegetable export sector, GIRSAL undertook a study tour of Vegpro Group's operations in Kenya, one of the largest horticultural businesses in Kenya, which produced and exported over 30 commodities in a greenhouse and net house conditions.

Mr Yeboah said the team came back with some learning, including piloting the production of chillies in net houses and thereafter using the results to encourage farmers/exporters to adopt.

Project

He said the project had identified four locations for commercial trials, namely the Dahwenya Irrigation Site in the Greater Accra Region, Ziope and Woadze, both in the Volta Region and Kyekyewere in the Eastern Region, adding that the plan was to work with vegetable industry association members to establish four hectares of net houses in these locations.

Shade net technology is a form of protected cropping structure that offers an ideal environment for plant growth, and protection from sunlight, wind and pests.

The technology reduces the risk of insect pest invasion, as it uses insect-proof nets, and minimises wind damage and water stress during hot, dry and windy conditions.

Mr Yeboah noted that Ghana used to be a significant supplier of chillies to the EU and vegetable export generated a significant amount of foreign exchange for the Ghanaian economy and provided a market avenue for numerous smallholder farmers.

He said the EU in October 2014 banned the export of vegetables such as chillies and other vegetables from Ghana to its markets because of suspicions that the farm produce was infested with pests and, therefore, was being introduced into the ecosystem of the EU.

The ban resulted in the country losing more than US$ 30 million in export revenue from five selected vegetables banned from entering the EU market.

Credit risk

The Chief Operating Officer of GIRSAL, Takyi Sraha, said GIRSAL was initially set up to provide credit risk guarantees to financial institutions to increase lending to the agricultural sector in Ghana.

He said the results from the commercial trial in terms of costs of required infrastructure, agro-inputs and labour, as well as the expected revenue would be used for a cost-benefit analysis and subsequently build a business case for commercial production of chillies under the net house.

The President of the Ghana Vegetables and Exporters Association, Dr Felix Kamassah, was optimistic about the success of the intervention and called on the government to put in place appropriate policies to support the private sector in the quest to overturn the misfortune that hit Ghana in the vegetable export business.

The Executive Director of Agri Impact, managers of the greenhouse enclave in Dawhenya, Juliana Asante Dartey, thanked GIRSAL for the partnership and called for more collaborations towards investing in the agriculture sector, particularly greenhouse technology development, to address food insecurity and post-harvest loss in Ghana amidst issues on global climate change.

Writer’s email: [email protected]. gh