ACCRA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Ghanaian government will continue to create the enabling environment for partnerships with the private sector for growth, Ghana's Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said here on Thursday.
Bawumia was speaking in Accra during a meeting with the Global Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, Paul Polman, where the Ghanaian government and Unilever announced a joint vision (JV) to transform the Twifo Oil Palm Plantation (TOPP), one of Ghana's biggest oil palm plantations, into a state-of-the-art sustainable palm oil plantation.
Under this JV, Unilever and the Ghanaian government will work together to develop the plantation, support smallholder farmers, and help ensure a positive impact on the local economy.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said that the government was serious about plans to transform and modernize operations of the agricultural sector to position it as a viable entity that generated sustainable jobs for the economy.
"We intend to harness opportunities in the agro-processing and manufacturing industries and are, indeed, delighted about Unilever's commitment in support of our vision to initiate Public-Private Partnerships as vehicles for executing this task," said Akoto.
Polman said the transformation of TOPP into a sustainable palm oil plantation would support his company's business as well as smallholder agriculture and economic growth in Ghana. Enditem
