The World Health Organization, (WHO) estimates that low fruits and vegetables intake contributes nearly two point Seven Million deaths a year from chronic diseases and causes about 31 percent of heart diseases and 11 percent of stroke worldwide.
Many children and women of reproductive age suffer every year from deficiencies in micro nutrients due to insufficient or low consumption of food sources that are rich in Micro-nutrients such as fruits and vegetables which can lead to poor health and socio-economic of the Country.
The Eastern Regional Minister Eric Kwakye Darfour said this at the Maiden Edition of Fruits and Vegetable, (FruitVeg), fair in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
The FruitVeg fair was organized by the FruitVeg Secretariat and the Agric Department of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council and it was on the theme’ ’Fruits and Vegetables’; a catalyst Health and Economic Development’ ’It is aimed among other things to promote fruits and vegetables sector by facilitating support for increase cultivation and marketing of fruits and vegetables for local consumption, industrial use and export of foreign exchange.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, indicated that an increased consumption of fruits and vegetables will have a positive impact on the production of horticultural crops and will therefore boost the agricultural sector while creating job opportunities for fruits and vegetable farmers, commercial distributing agents and agro processors.
He added that the consumption of fruits and vegetables prevents no- communicable diseases such as cardiovascular, obesity, and cancer.
According to the Minister, it is estimated that the market potential in market for organic fruits is a little over 32 Million Ghana cedis per annum while that of organic vegetables is one million, 991 thousand 224 Ghana cedis.
He said the region is known to be the vegetable and food production area of Ghana as the production, consumption marketing and export of both indigenous fruits and vegetables in the region is on the rise.
He called for a collaboration between the Ministries of Trade and Industries, Agriculture, the fruits and Vegetable Manufacturing companies to team up with farmers to explore better opportunities to maximize income.
The Executive Director of Fruitsveg, Christ Kpeh noted that for the Secretariat to accelerate at a faster rate, there is the need for partners to embrace modern farming practices for farmers to understand agriculture as a business and the collective efforts of all actors to maintain international standards for production.
He said the fair provides a platform of array of services targeted at strengthening the country’s horticulture locally and internationally through trainings, conferences, trade promotions, capacity building and other advocacy programmes and initiatives.
Mr. Kpeh said on the whole, Fruit Veg aims to enhance the competitiveness of Ghanaian fruits and vegetables sector, expand product range, promote business networking and shape the areas of development in the modern economic conditions and achieve new frontiers in business.
The Regional Director of Agriculture Henry Crentsil, observed that fruits contain important components in diets which promotes good health.
He therefore stressed the need for the farmers to produce fruits in large scale to feed the country.
Mr. Crentsil asked the farmers to practice modern methods of farming to boost production.
He advised Ghanaians to consume more fruits and vegetables but was quick to add that they should be mindful of how they prepare them to prevent them from contracting any infections.
Story filed by Priscilla Asante
