Accra, Dec. 9, GNA-The Ministry of Trade and Industry will soon establish a commodity exchange and develop a regulated warehouse receipt system to ensure price stability and provide sustainable affordable finan= ce especially to farmers who could further use their commodities as collater= al. Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, who disclosed this said:" the Security and Exchange Commission is working feverishly to put in place the necessary policy and regulatory framework to supervise and supervise and regulate the system."

The Minister was addressing a three-day capacity building workshop o= n enhancing the functioning of cereal markets in West Africa. It is being organised by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in cooperation with ECOWAS and the Network of Farmer= s and Agricultural Producers' Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA) and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). Policy makers, experts, farmers and researchers drawn from the West African sub-region are attending the workshop which is being funded by th= e European Union through the ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme (AAACP)= .. It seeks to improve the capacity of public and private stakeholders i= n the area of innovative supply chain finance and commodity exchanges. Ms Tetteh said Commodities exchange would help in the management of risks, facilitate trade and finance. "They offer transparency in trading processes by monitoring the condu= ct of members and brokers through the enforcement of rules and regulations." According to the Minister, access to market and ensuring the further development of effective and efficient market is one of the major challen= ges facing the private sector in West Africa.

She therefore called for more constructive ways of creating an integrated sub-regional market for goods and service. "As we make strenuous efforts at regional integration, food becomes a= n issue of great importance. One of the important means of ensuring food security is to ensure fair and stable incomes to our farmers who engage i= n the production of cereals in the Sub-region-a guarantee for continues and=

increased production." Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture, said the government=

has proposed an agricultural development fund in the budget to facilitate=

bank financing of the whole agricultural value chain.

He expressed the hope that year 2011 would be a year of hope and acti= on for the local agricultural sector in view of the fund and other measures being taken by government to grow the sector. 0