In 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda. It seeks to get the country to depend more on its abilities and resources than to foreign donors. The vision, among others, included a plan to industrialise the country, hinged on a campaign promise of creating a factory in every district; One District, One Factory (1D1F).
The government’s flagship programme is geared towards creating jobs to alleviate poverty and create wealth for all.
Low and behold, in August 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cuts the sod for the construction of the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Factory under the 1D1F industrialization drive at Ekumfi in the Central Region.
The Ekumfi Pineapple Processing Factory is the first factory to be constructed under the government’s initiative.
Speaking at the official launching of the initiative, President Akufo-Addo said the policy is not a political gimmick but one that will change the fortunes of the economy.
He said the country cannot grow if it continues to export produce in its raw state without adding value. He entreated Ghanaians especially financial organisations to support government to make the project successful. That will banish the spectre of young and able bodied men and women who leave rural areas for urban areas in search of non-existing jobs.
Ownership
The factory is a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, and has one of the most modern, automated agro-processing plants in the West Africa. It is the first factory to be constructed under the government’s 1D1F initiative.
The factory is sited on a 50-acre land and has 100-metres length and 50-metres width of factory floor space large enough for additional production works.
The Factory processes 100 percent natural juices in three great variants - Pineapple, Pine-Ginja and Pine-Tropic under the brand names EKUMFI PURE JUICE and EKU JUICE.
The facility is be the biggest pineapple juice processing factory in West Africa, with the capacity to process 10 tonnes of fruits per hour.
“The Ekumfi Juice Factory is currently the largest pineapple juice processing factory in West Africa and it has put Ghana on the international radar with regard to the competition of fruit juice products on the export market,” the statement said.
the juice that is produced at the factory is not made from concentrate and no additives, putting the product ahead of its competitors.
Capital
“A total investment of fifteen million dollars, ($15 million), of which ten million dollars ($10 million) was a facility from Ghana Exim Bank, has been made. Presently, the production capacity of the factory is ten (10) tonnes of processed juice per hour, utilizing some ten thousand (10,000) fruits per hour.
This means that this factory requires four acres of pineapple fruits to be harvested for processing every hour.
The factory is sited on a 50-acre land and has 100-metres length and 50-metres width of factory floor space large enough for additional production works.
Company Operations
Explaining the operations of the company to the Ghana News Agency, the Chief Operations Officer of the company, Mr. Frederick Kobbyna Acquaah, expressed profound gratitude to God Almighty and President Akufo-Addo, chiefs and the people for the support.
He assured that the company has come to stay to process pineapples into natural fruit juices for both local and international market with the product name, ‘Eku Juice’. It is expected to process close to 10 tonnes of pineapple into fruit juice an hour, and its size and volumes make it the largest natural fruit juice factory in West Africa.
During a tour of the facility, Mr. Acquaah emphasized that they had done everything necessary since the sod was cut two years ago, for a smooth take off. With approval from the FDA expected in the coming days to commence production.
Strategy
Strategically, the operationability of the company was put into three phases that were going to merge at a point. "What we did initially was to begin to work on our raw materials, so we did a lot in terms of growing our raw materials mindful of the fact that pineapples cannot be conjured so you actually have to grow them and they have a long time for maturity."
"It is between 12 to 16 months so we needed to keep an eye on it for our factory to be sustainable. The second one was to put up a building like where we are now and the third was to purchase machinery to process these pineapples," he said.
FDA
“So far we have done two successful full line test run. What I mean by that is that we have brought in water from our farms, dropped in our water bath and then run through the process till we have the juice in the box – One of which we did with the FDA and they have picked samples.”
The FDA has given us a few recommendations so you will see a few civil works around. Those are finishing touches that fell from the recommendations from the FDA.
Product label
Justifying the decision behind the product label, the Director of Operations of the company noted that it was the most convenient and market-friendly name the company could generate.
“We are not looking at Ghana as our only market, we are looking at international so although we have the "Ekumfi Pure Juice", we also want another one that is a bit catchy. So if I want you to shorten or get me a catchword, if you have any other apart from Eku Juice, you can let me now," he said.
Employment capacity
Giving more information during a visit to the 60 acres pineapple farmland cultivated by 20 former fishermen, Mr Acquaah estimated that at full capacity, the factory is expected to run three shifts. Each shift, will have about 150 persons directly working at every point in time.
This excludes the farmhands and other casual workers who may be brought in to provide assistance or services. The impact of the factory is already being felt across the town as well.
Community impact
Communities, traditional leaders, individuals have partnered the company to grow and receive technical assistance in farming pineapples to be supplied to the company. At one of the farms, the Director of Operations tells the GNA they had cultivated almost 60 acres of land. These men, per their own account, had no farming knowledge or expertise in growing pineapples, but considered the venture more lucrative than fishing.
"The youth among them insist, the farming business gives them an opportunity to occupy themselves and avoid engaging in vices that may derail their growth and future prospects." “We put them to farming, gave them the training and then they are doing well. We gave them the necessary support and this that you see here, 20 acres they did this. So in a close season for fishermen for them there was no effect," Mr Acquaah explained.
Land Size
He indicated that the factory hopes to acquire more land and engage more people in cultivating plantations to hit their target of 15,000 acres of pineapple plantation.
“Per our projection, we are doing 500 acres per annum but we are saying that we don’t just need this 5000 acres, we need triple of that 5000 acres because there will be time that we need to leave this farmland to move to another parcel so that we can grow there so that we can get this parcel to rejuvenate in terms of its soil nutrients,” he disclosed.
Traditional Leaders Support
In adherence to the company plea for support, Okyeame Adams Sanei explained the various clans in Ekumfi Abor had agreed to give the land free of charge to the government, as their support to government for bringing the factory to Ekumfi district.
“So today we the chiefs of Ekumfi Abor are giving our land free of charge to government in order for our farmers to get job to do,” Okyeame stated.
GEPA Support
The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) also provided five million pineapple suckers for cultivation to feed the factory in February 2018.
This is to help sustain the operations of the factory, which was under construction, as it will ensure the availability of raw materials for its operations.
Mr Eric Amoako Twum, a Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEPA, said out-growers from Agona, Gomoa, Ekumfi and other adjoining districts that had subscribed to pineapple plantations, would supply their produce to feed the factory.
Bye-product uses
The multiplier effect of the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices factory is being felt in all facets of the lives of the people of the Central Region, not only Ekumfi. With the setting up of this fruits and juices factory, other investors have expressed interest in setting up factories using the by-products of the fruits factory as their raw materials.
From an initial plan of 3 uses for the by-product, more proposals have been received increasing the likelihood of having more than 5 entities being set up along the value chain, according to Mr Acquaah.
“We began our project by looking at 3 uses for our bye product. At the moment we are at 5 uses. Because we grow pineapples we need manure. So we have dedicated a part of our land for compost site. Our waste will go into compost that will be used as manure to grow more pineapples.”
“The second one is that we have a company that is prepared to use our bye product to prepare animal feed. So they are going to do feed that will go for cattle sheep and goats and pigs.” “We hope to use this waste to generate energy as well and then to do ethanol.” “Because of the volumes we are talking about, it might not even be mini-factories. Because we are processing 10 tonnes of pineapples per hour so it might not exactly be mini-factories. So we are going to give birth to a lot of factories in the Ekumfi area.”
He pleaded with Ghanaians to support the operations of the company and help it succeed beyond the present generation as it has potential to boost development. He found it unpalatable for people to play political mischief with the investment and conceded that though they are private enterprise, they had received some government support but was quick to explain that it is a wholly private venture and the benefits came under the 1D1F advantage.
President Akufu-Addo
Happily, on Friday, August 21, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, commissioned the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Factory at Ekumfi in the Central Region.
Political gimmick
In November 20, 2019, there was excitement in parliament especially among majority members of Parliament (MPs), when the now popular Ekumfi Fruit Juice product known as “Eku Juice” popped up in the law making chamber during the 2020 budget debate.
The Minister for Information and MP for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah displayed the nicely well packaged juice on Monday, 18 November 2019,while contributing to the budget debate focusing on the benefits of flagship programmes introduced by President Akufo-Addo.
“When we rolled out the 1D1F Programme, there was a lot of mockery but that flagship programme in addition to the stimulus package that was provided is beginning to bear fruit. I hold in my hands here Eku Juice from the Ekumfi Juice Factory soon to be rolled out onto the market. Another project of the Akufo-Addo administration in the Central Region which was subjected to so much ridicule, but today that flagship programme is beginning to bear fruit” he said.
Commissioning the factory, the President Akufu-Addo recounted how, on August 21, some seven months after taking office, he cut the sod for the construction of the the factory, the first 1D1F project of his Government.
He stated that “In my remarks, I appealed for the unalloyed support of every Ghanaian for the success of this project.
Unfortunately, our political opponents did not heed this call, with some going as far as calling this project a hoax and a political gimmick, and with some describing it as 'a grasscutter breeding house'.
The President continued, “Nearly, three years down the line, we have confounded the doubting Thomases, and I am very happy to be back here in Ekumfi, and, indeed, very proud to commission the Ekumfi Fruit and Juices Factory. As we can all see, this project has been well-planned and well-thought through, with the raw materials needed for the successful implementation of this project already present, and an outgrower scheme in place”.
Rational for the factory
Explaining the rationale for the 1D1F initiative, President Akufo-Addo noted that the initiative is designed to transform the industrial landscape of the country, and build the capacities of local entrepreneurs and existing enterprises to produce high quality products and services for both domestic and foreign markets.
Further, it seeks to create employment particularly, for the youth, in rural and peri-urban communities, and thereby improve income levels and standard of living, as well as reduce rural-urban migration.
“That is why Ekumfi, which is one of the richest districts in the country in terms of natural resources, has validated the Government's approach to industrialization, through value addition,” he added.
With 1,000 acres of pineapple under cultivation, employing about 475 outgrowers, the factory has created direct employment opportunities for over five hundred and fifty (550) people including engineers, food scientists, marketing professionals, accountants, and technicians.
In addition, more than one thousand (1,000) indirect job opportunities in Ekumfi and other adjoining districts have been created.
“The Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Factory is yet another example of Government's determination to promote the industrial transformation of our country. Government will continue to partner the private sector to establish similar modern factories, and which would be globally competitive, and take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area, that will begin trading on 1st January next year,” the President said.
Commending the Promoters of factory for putting up an excellent, modern processing facility in Ekumfi Nanaben in support of the Industrial Transformation Agenda of the Government, President Akufo-Addo also commended the Chiefs and Traditional Authorities for the release of land for the project.
He urged all the farmers and workers to be disciplined, and eschew any negative tendencies that may undermine the success of this great project.
Gratitude
The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Frederick Kobbyna Acquaah, expressed profound gratitude to God Almighty and President Akufo-Addo.
The Ekumfi traditional Council gave the President the title, "Nana Oyeadze Nokwarfo I" for his hard work and vision, unflinching support, direction and passion to industrialise Ghana through the 1D1F Programme of which Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Ltd is proudly, the first.
Management of the factory was also grateful to Odeefo Akyin VIII, Paramount Chief of Ekumfi Traditional Area, under whose auspices the commissioning of the factory was held, and all the paramount chiefs who were invited to grace the occasion. We are indeed humbled”.
Support from CSOs
The Alliance for Development and Industrialisation (ADI) has expressed it unflinching support and felicitations on the timely completion of the project and prospect.
Mr. Godwin Arthur, the Convener, the group said: “We at the ADI have attached ourselves to the commitment of the chiefs and people to this project. The ADI has continued to monitor all these and can attest to the fact that the Ekumfi Project will be one of the largest sources of revenue for this country”.
According to the ADI, if the government could replicate such projects in 10 regions, the country would accrue a total revenue of GH¢5.3 billion a year.
“We again commend the government for the 18-month duration for the construction of this factory. From our records, such a thing has never happened in the history of this country”, he said.
“We are of the view that with the district and community partnership, the factory will transform the lives of the people”, it added.
Marketing
Although many of the operational projections of the Factory have proceeded within expectations, the coronavirus pandemic and fierce competition on Ghana’s fruit juice market remain a challenge.
Mr Acquaah, said the company, however, is breaking ground to keep raw materials at a constant production to enable fruits processing all year round.
“We are a startup so we have just come. You know we are competing with stuff that is already in the market as juices but a least you check our box and the contents of our box and our process here… [and you know] that these are fruits that arrive here, are squeezed into the tubes and there is no contact, there is no additive, no preservative, no added sugar.
“But we have had to go to the market and compete with others that are there. It takes time to understand the difference between Eku Juice and the others,” he told journalists on Thursday, August 6, 2020, during a tour organised by its main financiers, Ghana Export-Import Bank (Ghana EXIM).
Touching on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, he said production has been cut down by one-third of targets and has taken a toll on export timelines.
“COVID-19 has slowed down our projections in terms of even our farming, our production and our marketing,” he said adding that before lockdowns in many parts of the world, market standardisation had been ongoing to export to Germany, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
It came under attacked after it was launched for being just a ruse by the Nana Akufo-Addo, however, last year, the Eku Juice, the pineapple-base juice from the factory went on sale.
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