Irchad Razaaly EU Ambassador calls on Northern Regional Minister

Mr Irchad Razaaly, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Ghana has called on the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, as part of a four- day visit to small scale shea enterprises in the region.

The call was to inform the Regional Minister about the existing EU funded West Africa Competitive Programme (WACOMP), which was empowering organic product dealers and its interest to explore more potentials in the north.

Mr Razaaly said the visit was aimed at touring the sites of beneficiaries of the EU funded projects to ascertain their progress and challenges.

He said it was relevant to call on the Northern Regional Minister, a key personality in the capacity of policy-making, and traditional authority during his stay in the region.

He said the EU had interest in the planting, processing of shea and creating a global market for its sales as part of efforts to provide jobs for the people of the north.

He said: “We are supporting small scale enterprises to scale up their production and sales patterns to support government’s efforts to maintain stability in the region.”

Mr Razaaly said “This visit is important to the future of the region. We will meet Northern Electricity Distribution Company to assess and explore potential cooperation to improve the efficiency of the grid to reduce losses in terms of power transportation and others.”

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister expressed gratitude to the EU delegation for the courtesy call and assistance for the development of the region.

He said shea picking had been a source of revenue for women in the region adding any gesture towards resourcing women was well appreciated as it enhanced economic endeavours.

He mentioned that the shea business was faced with value addition challenges, which when addressed, would improve the industry and the lives of shea pickers.