Ghana is seeking increased support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to advance the agribusiness and industrialization agenda, as government moves to develop new industrial and small business policies aimed at boosting productivity and manufacturing.
The request came during a meeting between Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare and UNIDO Deputy Director-General Yuko Yasunaga,where the two sides discussed expanding cooperation on industrial development and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policies.
Yasunaga said UNIDO would continue supporting Ghana in developing industrial and SME policies based on the Kaizen philosophy, which focuses on efficiency, continuous improvement and productivity.
He said the organization is prepared to broaden the application of Kaizen across key sectors of the economy, including SMEs, agro-processing, automobile manufacturing and institutional capacity building, as part of efforts to promote more integrated industrial policies.
Ofosu-Adjare welcomed the partnership, saying Ghana had already benefited from Kaizen training programs and called for greater support to complement the government’s industrialization strategy.
“Government’s next budget focus is on agribusiness. As a ministry responsible for agribusiness, beyond industrialisation, raw materials would be made available to feed the industry. I therefore call on UNIDO to support the Feed the Industry programme,” the minister stated.
The “Feed the Industry” initiative forms part of the government’s strategy to strengthen domestic production by increasing the supply of raw materials for local manufacturers and agro-processors.
The minister also expressed appreciation to the Japanese government, particularly Japan’s Ambassador to Ghana, Hiroshi Yoshimoto, for its continued support for Ghana’s industrial development efforts through Kaizen and other initiatives.
She welcomed the appointment of Emmanuel Kalenzi as UNIDO’s new country representative to Ghana and Liberia and called for adequate resources to enable him to effectively carry out his mandate.
