Guinness Ghana local raw material sourcing initiative generates over GH¢100m in income for farmers
By increasing its usage of local materials in production, Guinness Ghana Brewery Ltd (GGBL) has improved the income of local farmers to the tune of over GH¢100 million a year.
When in November 2012, the government of Ghana passed the Customs and Excise Act 855, and an excise duty concession on a sliding scale for breweries using local raw materials for the manufacture of excisable goods was also passed, GGBL, which was already investing and using sorghum for the production of its premium brands, took advantage to significantly increase its usage of local raw materials (sorghum, maize and cassava).
“Over the last five years, we have steadily increased our investment in the Local Raw Material (LRM) sector,” the company said in a email to ghanabusinessnews.com.
It also noted that in October 2015, it presented the progress it had made in developing the LRM supply chain to its key stakeholders and shared the findings of a socio-economic impact assessment undertaken by Deloitte-UK and the Bureau for Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
“As we shared then, our vision still remains generating long-term business value with locally and sustainably sourced raw materials which meet quality standards and have a positive impact on the communities and environment in which we operate,” the company said.
During a workshop on local raw materials in Accra Thursday September 28, 2017, Prof. Paul Sarfo-Mensah, a Senior Research Fellow at the BIRD, KNUST noted the improvement within the supply chain. He indicated that major commercial farms and agro-processing facilities have signed contracts with GGBL to supply raw materials to the company.
He also pointed out that there has been improvement in the incomes of farmers as a result of the GGBL local raw material sourcing (LRMS) intervention. He also said the quantum of income of farmers available in the intervention regions for taxation is estimated to be GH¢101,525,000 per annum.
In his presentation, the Minister of State in Charge of Agriculture, Dr. Nurah Gyiele said boosting local production and consumption in the country including the increased utilization of locally produced raw materials in industry is the way forward in ensuring self-sufficiency in food production and job creation.
He said one of the ambitions of the government of Ghana is to transform the lives of Ghanaians through sustainable job creation and poverty eradication.
Dr. Gyiele expressed the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s delight to be associated with the workshop organized saying that the Ministry hopes it will bring about employment and improvement in benefits associated with local raw material sourcing from the agriculture sector.
The Minister noted that the low income received by farmers was due to undeveloped supply chains that discouraged further production and said the Workshop has contributed through its findings and recommendations to help identify and promote those improvements that are needed to support the necessary investment in production and processing.
The workshop was attended by farmers, aggregators, processors and business executives.
By Solomon O. Mensah
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