The Ghana Exim Bank (GEXIM Bank) has announced that it is providing funding for the development of the country’s honey farming sector.
Lawrence Agyinsam, Chief Executive Officer of the bank told a stakeholders meeting today that the Board of the bank has decided to inject Ghc12million into the sector.
“The Board has therefore approved an amount of Ghc12m to support the Beekeeping project,” he said, adding the bank is poised to help develop the country’s Bee industry to grow into a world class production hub,” the GEXIM boss stated.
GEXIM is touting the venture as ‘Bee Keeping Development Project (BeDP)’. It is to be developed with technical partners from Slovenia.
According to its CEO, the Board of the Bank approved the cooperation with Slovenia on the 9th of October, 2019.
According to the bank, Ghana has one of the best climatic conditions that supports bee keeping and yet the country imports some 60% of honey from foreign markets, including its Northerly neighbor, Burkina Faso.
“Despite Ghana having one of the best climatic conditions suitable for beekeeping and honey production, the country imports more than 600 tons of honey worth millions of cedis every month. The FGBA (Federation of Ghana Beekeepers Association) has estimated Ghana’s honey potential to be at 500,000 tons per annum, worth about USD1.5billion,” Mr. Agyinsam said.
BeDP, he said, will help the country scale up bee production rapidly and reduce the shortfalls.
The project is being implemented in two phases – phase 1 will involve a comprehensive feasibility study and pilot of the bee sector while phase 2 will concentrate on the production and processing of honey by-products for local and international consumption.
Already, two areas in the country – Nkwanta South in the Volta Region and Berekum in the Bono Region are notable large scale production hubs.