By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Dec. 29, GNA — Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) Limited has been adjudged the Best Regional Company in the Eastern Region at the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Quality Awards, for displaying outstanding expertise and perseverance.
The AGI Best Regional Company Award is granted to a company that has demonstrated resilience, competence, ingenuity, and proven leadership in corporate social responsibility, a track record GOPDC has shown over the years.
Mr Charles Okyere Addo, Commercial Manager of GOPDC, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the award has motivated management and personnel at the oil company to provide better quality services to their customers.
He said the company would continue to provide excellent products and services to clients while also providing optimal working conditions for employees to give their utmost, through substantial investment in plant and equipment as well as sustainable agricultural practices.
He said, “This award only recognises what we have always been doing and we are not going to rest on our oars. We can only get better.
“We will continue to provide the best working condition for our cherished employees; providing quality products to support our clients – both locally & internationally and positively impact the environment and the communities within which we operate.”
GOPDC is a fully-owned subsidiary of the SIAT GROUP, a Belgian agricultural investment company with operations in Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The company leases two concessions from the Ghanaian government: GOPDC Kwae (8954 hectares) and GOPDC Okumaning (5075 hectares), both in the Kwaebibirem Municipality and Denkyembour District of the Eastern Region, with a total of approximately 9000 hectares of oil palm planted.
GODPC diversified into rubber cultivation in 2012, planting around 771 hectares of rubber trees in the uplands inside its Kwae concession.
Mr Addo further stated that as part of its corporate social responsibility, GODPC has introduced a scholarship scheme in which students are chosen from communities in their operational districts and granted scholarships to study at the higher levels.
According to him, 27 students benefited from the scholarship initiative in 2022, with a cash package of 100,000 Ghana cedis.
Furthermore, in order to accomplish SDG six, “Access to water and sanitation for all,” GOPDC has installed a mechanised water system for the residents of Kwae, which has a population of over 6000.
He said that manual boreholes had also been drilled to serve the communities of Koka, Afunya, and Adjikpo, and that in 2022, the company supported the people of Kusi with the sum of 110,700 Ghana cedis to complete a nurses’ quarters that was initiated by the community.
In addition, the company provides annual support to traditional Councils, particularly during festivals and other cultural rituals.
GOPDC’s impact on communities has been phenomenal, as it operates an out-grower scheme of over 5000 hectares involving around 4500 farmers scattered over a 30-km radius, generating direct and indirect income for over 50000 people.
During peak seasons, the company employs over 4,000 workers and produces over 35,000 tonnes of palm oil and palm kernel oil per year, with a storage capacity of approximately 21,000 tonnes at both Kwae and Tema harbours near Accra.
GNA