By Jones Anlimah
The West African Association for Cross-Border Trade in Agro-forestry-pastoral and Fisheries products and Food (WACTAF), has opened a Trade Information and Border Assistance Desk (TIBAD) at the Aflao border.
The trade and information desk among other things seeks to address the issue of inadequate and inaccurate capturing of data, serve as language barrier needs and assist traders, especially women who ply their trade between Ghana, Togo, and other ECOWAS Communities.
The West African Association for Cross-Border Trade in Agro-forestry-pastoral and Fisheries products and Food (WACTAF), in partnership with other key partners including the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), ECOWAS Commission responsible for Trade and Free Movement of Goods, and the International Food Policy Research Institute(lFPRl), the regional Markets and Cross-border Trade Corridors in the Sahel (FARM-TRAC) have been collaborating towards ensuring food security, accelerated economic growth as well as development of the agricultural sector which will also contribute to the fluidity of cross-border trade among West African countries and the operationalisation of ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union trade and agricultural policies.
Aflao border challenges
However, a major identified challenge confronting traders in the pursuit of this has been language barrier and inadequate information on trade activities, especially in the informal sector. So, to address this challenge WACTAF decided to set up a Trade Information and Border Assistance Desk at the Aflalo border.
The focal person for WACTAF, Mr. Sheikh Issa Amartey said the decision to open the Trade Information and Border Assistance Desk forms part of a project to support the marketing of agricultural products between Ghana and Togo as well as other West African countries.
According to him, with the setting up of similar desks in other countries, adequate information and data needed for economic planning by governments of member states of ECOWAS which hitherto could not have been captured, will be a thing of the past.
