Within the ReValueD project, Dr. Terese Venus and Franziska Jäckel conducted a qualitative pre-phase study in Ghana, between January 12th to 26th. They conducted 20 in-depth interviews across the Greater Accra, Eastern, and Central Regions, focusing mainly on Ghana's pineapple belt. These discussions involved a variety of stakeholders, including smallholder farmers, farmer associations, food processing companies, exporters, agricultural waste management firms, as well as foreign aid companies. The interviews explored different facets of the tropical fruit sector, including the stakeholders’ day-to-day operations, challenges, and opportunities.
Key findings highlighted significant financial constraints, limited access to essential resources for agricultural production like fertilizers and machinery, and growing competition from Latin American fruit-exporting countries. Despite the challenges, there is a trend of initiatives emerging since around 2020, aiming to convert agricultural waste into value-added products such as charcoal, biogas, and organic fertilizer. However, these initiatives lack sufficient integration with farmer communities. Looking ahead, there's a strong emphasis on forging more equitable connections between smallholder farmers and industry stakeholders in collaboration with farmer associations and other institutions. Currently, further online interviews are being conducted to delve deeper into these insights and refine future strategies for the upcoming quantitative data collection periods.
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