Government has directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) to purchase all fertilisers necessary for the growing of cocoa and other crops from local sources, beginning next year.

The Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who disclosed the directive Wednesday said such an order had become possible because through the ‘One District One Factory’ initiative, government had built up the capacity of local manufacturers to meet and exceed the country’s fertilizer demand.

According to officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the country’s fertilizer demand stands at about 600,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Dr Bawumia was said this at the 20th-anniversary celebration of Olam Cocoa Ghana, chaired by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, in Accra.

The directive for the local purchase of fertiliser comes after recent major strides in the production of blended fertiliser in the country, with just one company, Glofert Fertilizer Limited, having the capacity to produce about 800,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Four other local companies have also ramped up production, with other facilities under construction across the country.

The Vice President commended the management of Olam Ghana for their contribution to national development over the years, especially in the area of job creation and the development of the cocoa industry.

“Government is aware of the many achievements of Olam Ghana, the parent company of Olam Cocoa, in the agro-commodity sector of the economy. The company has gradually become one of the leading agro-commodity companies in the country. Your involvement in the export of cashew, and your tomato paste processing and canning has not escaped the eye of government.

“I wish to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Government, to congratulate Olam Cocoa Ghana for twenty years of remarkable growth and achievements.

“Your achievements and continuous investment in the country is a demonstration of the confidence that your Company has in our resilient economy. We are delighted to note that Olam Cocoa Ghana is deeply involved in our cocoa industry from the internal marketing of cocoa to external marketing, and then to downstream processing.”

Government, Vice President Bawumia assured, would continue to support and celebrate the private sector by implementing policies and programmes designed to remove obstacles to their activities.

“We have made it a policy not to engage in activities that will put impediments or bottlenecks in the way of the private sector. Since we came into office, we have been working tirelessly to build a business-friendly environment that can attract private sector investment in order to create jobs and to grow the economy towards building a Ghana beyond aid.

“We shall continue to press forward in our efforts to achieve this noble goal. We want to celebrate the success stories of many more private companies, whether they are Ghanaian-owned or foreign-owned, just as we are witnessing today.”