Golden Exotics Limited (GEL) has pledged to extend its activities and aid in the growth of the local communities surrounding its plantations as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
The firm plans to reach a total banana plantation of 2,000 hectares by June of this year. It began by planting pineapples on a 700-hectare plot of land.
It has plantations at Torgorme in the North Tongu District, Kasunya near Asutuare in the Shai-Osudoku District, and Obom near Ngleshi-Amanfrom in the Ga South Municipality.
Commitment
Before kicking off the year-long anniversary celebration in Accra, the managing director of GEL, Benedict John Rich, stated that the company's progress had been supported by its dedication to sustainable principles, including decent labor and respect for human rights and the health and safety of its employees, environmental stewardship, ethical sourcing, and best global practices.
"For us, it is not enough to do things unless we are doing them properly," he declared.
Mr. Rich said that since the firm's founding, it has carried out its corporate social responsibility in the areas of wellbeing, including economic, health, and education, in the communities where it operates. He also stated that the company wanted to review similar programs during the anniversary year.
He said that the firm started growing organic bananas in 2014 and that, while its conventional farms continued to grow, it was able to grow its organic banana plantation by an average of 100 hectares each year to 600 hectares, making it one of the largest in the world.
According to Mr. Rich, the firm has adopted a variety of technologies over the past 20 years, from the usage of smart phones and bar code scanners in the field to drones in the sectors of precision agriculture and product traceability, as part of a commitment to stay productive and competitive.
Challenges
He acknowledged that there would be difficulties, with productivity and profitability being the two main ones, but he also said that the world was more complicated than it had ever been, with global pandemics, war, geopolitics, and climate change having a greater impact on the environment, agriculture, and commerce.
He said that Golden Exotics had been forced to diversify as a result of a decline in Ghana's pineapple business and was currently working on growing other crops.
Olivier Chassang, vice president of Compagnie Fruitiere, Ghana, stated that despite difficulties both domestically and abroad, the shareholders were always working to grow the company in Ghana.
He complimented GEL's management on behalf of the company's shareholders for their vision and never-ending efforts to identify ways to maintain the company's activities in Ghana.
After explaining how the business began in 2003, GEL's Sustainability Manager, George Kporye, whose papaya farm, Paradise Farms, which he founded with a sister and a friend, was purchased by the company's shareholders, said the success and 20-year milestone had been achieved through the coordinated efforts of management and employees with the support of the community.
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