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Efforts to tame illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, have failed to yield results in the country, as the menace continues to attract a significant number of youth, looking for seemingly guaranteed ways to quickly enrich themselves.
The act is being driven by the current unemployment amongst Ghanaian youth, especially among university graduates, and is continually causing the destruction of perfectly arable lands, forestry and water bodies. This invariably accounts for Ghana’s current difficulties in smallholder agricultural activities and this has very adverse effects, causing multiple vulnerabilities in our rural areas.
To help alleviate some of these effects of galamsey, Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited, established under the One District, One Factory initiative and its partners have been transforming the lives of some of these galamsey operators by signing them onto an alternative livelihood scheme.
This scheme has helped many galamsey operators in the Central and Eastern regions of Ghana, by providing them with the requisite training to carry out various jobs across the company’s value chain, from fruit production all the way to the marketing and sales of the company’s “Ekumfi Juice” product on the local market.
The engaged ex-operators have been employed in various segments of the production line, such as the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Ltd’s unique shared-grower model for fruit cultivation, farm mechanisation, processing and packaging of the fruits, distribution, and retail services.
According to the management of the company, multiple acres of land which the galamseyers could have destroyed through illegal mining activities have now been fully dedicated to the cultivation of all year-round pineapple fruits for processing at the Ekumfi Juice Factory.
Most of these beneficiaries are now able to support their families with sustainable and guaranteed wages from the company.
Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited is a Ghanaian owned fruit juice company which specialises in the manufacturing of locally made 100% natural fruit juices in the Ekumfi district in the Central Region of Ghana.
The company was established under government’s flagship programme, One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) initiative in 2019 and has created over 1,000 jobs in line with its aligned aim to alleviate poverty within the operational community and its neighboring districts and regions.
Ekumfi Fruits and Juices is referenced as the largest natural fruit processing factory in the West African sub region, capable of producing approximately 200 tons of fruits daily.
