The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) as part of its mandate to identify, develop and promote non-traditional products to the international market has provided financial support to eradicate leaf miner infestations on some oil palm plantations in the Ashanti Region.

As a measure to control the leaf miner devastations on oil palm plantations and also stop further spreading of the disease to other plantations in the district and the region, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) under the leadership of Hon. Gifty Klenam, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has released GH¢ 88,260.00 to the Oil Palm Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to spray about 1,100 acres of leaf miner infested oil palm plantations in the Ejisu Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

Leaf miner has devastating effects on the yield of oil palm, which invariably affects the export performance of processed oil palm to the international market.

The leaf miner infestations dry majority of the lower fronds, reducing photosynthetic materials available to the plant resulting in low yields and the likely collapse of the palm tree and the plantation as a whole. The effects of leaf miner infestations on some oil palm plantations are shown below.