Kintampo (B/A), July 26, GNA - Mango farmers in Kintampo have appealed for government support to increase production of the crop. Mr Samuel Effah Nimoh, Secretary of Kintampo Mango Farmers Association, who made the appeal at Kintampo on Wednesday, said mango cultivation if well harnessed with necessary logistics could become a major source of foreign exchange.

He was addressing 65 mango farmers at a seminar sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund through the Network for Advocacy for Development Alternatives (NADA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Mr Nimoh expressed regret that accessing medium term credit facilities for mango producers was very difficult because "financial institutions are interested in granting credits to early-to-harvest crops like cereals grains and vegetables".

He urged the Federation of Association of Ghana Exporters, Trade Investment Programme for Competitive Export Economy, Export Promotion Council and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to appreciate the potential and capacity of mango farmers to engage in large-scale production of the fruit for export.

"It is only at that capital intensive high production level for export that we could offset overhead and other production costs, break even and make meaningful profits to break the poverty cycle that has become endemic in our rural areas", he emphasised.

He noted that large-scale farms at Kintampo, located in the transition zone between the Savannah north and the forest south, would double as a form of reforestation programme that would provide shelter and arrest the advancing Savannah to salvage the environment.

Mr Nimoh expressed dismay that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture had excluded Brong-Ahafo in interventions to mango farmers in the northern part of the country through extending facilities that would grant them access to improved planting materials of export varieties. "The Millennium Challenge Account has also excluded the Region as a beneficiary", he noted.

Mr Idris Wiredu, Executive Director of NADA, emphasized the importance of mapping mango farms to enhance data management on production and marketing and improvement in the quality of mangoes for export.

He called on the government to provide mango farmers with the necessary inputs and logistics to ensure a booming and vibrant mango industry.