Accra, Sept. 30, GNA – The Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) has urged actors in the tree crops value chain to study the legal and regulatory requirements governing the sector to ensure its sustainable development.
It said stakeholders needed to have a clear understanding of their responsibilities under the law to improve compliance and enforcement across the tree crop value chain.
Dr Andy Osei Okrah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the TCDA, said effective regulation required collective responsibility and collaboration among farmers, processors, traders, aggregators, transporters, regulatory institutions and law enforcement agencies.
He made the call at the second National Stakeholder Engagement and Sensitisation Programme on Act 1010 and L.I. 2471, held in Sunyani in the Bono Region.
Dr Okrah said the Tree Crops Development Authority Act, 2019 (Act 1010) and the Authority’s Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2471) provided the framework for regulating activities in the tree crops sector, including registration and licensing, quality assurance, traceability, pricing and conveyance certification.
The stakeholder engagement, organised by the TCDA in collaboration with the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II), also assessed the Authority’s performance and discussed measures to strengthen regulation of the sector from 2027 and beyond.
Dr Okrah emphasised the increasing achievements of the Authority and the need for stakeholders to work together to ensure effective implementation of the legal and regulatory framework.
He called for continued cooperation among value-chain actors, regulatory institutions, law enforcement agencies and development partners to ensure that the provisions of Act 1010 and L.I. 2471 were fully understood and implemented.
The forum brought together representatives of the Ghana Police Service, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, farmers, processors, traders, aggregators, transporters, media practitioners and other stakeholders in the tree crops value chain.
The participants discussed enforcement and compliance, as well as the respective roles and responsibilities of stakeholders under the law.
The engagement also sought to strengthen collaboration between the TCDA and law enforcement agencies to improve compliance with the regulatory requirements governing the sector.
Prof. William Oduro, Board Chairman of the TCDA, and Mr Samuel Mbo, an Assistant Director at the Bono Regional Coordinating Council, who represented the Bono Regional Minister, attended the engagement.
The programme was supported by GPSCP II, implemented by NIRAS and Proforest, to enhance stakeholder awareness and understanding of the TCDA’s regulatory framework.
GNA