One of the government’s flagship programs, the One District One- Factory (1D1F) initiative, a key component of the industrial Transformation Agenda of the Government, has its sustainability tested as one of the local fruit juice manufacturing firms, Ekumfi Juice, was forced to reduce its production capacity as a result of prolonged drought.
Earlier, there were rumours that the local fruit juice manufacturing firm, which is one of the companies under the 1D1F initiative that has performed so well in the past few years had shut down. This was evident as some distributors of the product across the country complained of a drop in their supplies of the product. According to the distributors, they were not getting the required supplies from the factory even though they had made advance payment for the product.
However, management discounted the claims that the factory has shut down its operations. The management of the factory therefore, explained that its raw material base has been gravely affected due to lack of rains which has resulted in low yields. The long period of drought has affected the company’s production and pushed them to produce a little lower than what ordinarily it would have produced.
Its uneconomical now to operate at full capacity
Meanwhile, Operations Manager of the Factory, Frederick Kobina Acquah, explained that the drop in raw materials, especially pineapple, makes it uneconomical for the company to still operate at full capacity.
“There’s never been a shutdown. This week, for example, there hasn’t been any production because I checked the brix level that we use and realized that we were going to have a small quantity to produce. For me, it does not make economic sense to be pushed to produce small quantities at full capacity.
“What has happened in the past few months is that Central Region has experienced some long periods of drought- a long than normal drought. The rains are just coming in and if there’s drought, it affects us in some huge way.
“So, we have not been able to supply our customers, especially, some of our customers who have paid in advance”.
Remedial actions
Moreover, Mr. Acquah revealed, the break has afforded them the opportunity to expand their production network and they are planting a 5000-acre of the pineapple. He expressed optimism that there are more great and exciting times ahead for the company. As such, he pleaded with their customers to “expect something better”.
The recent occurrence is a major test for the sustainability of the flagship program. This means that for the 1D1F initiative to succeed, there is the need for the government to focus on the production of local raw materials for these factories. It calls for more investment in irrigation across the length and breadth of the country. As good as the initiative maybe, without raw materials, the companies may not function at full capacity.
A similar incident affected the operations of the Komenda Sugar Factory, when it was hit by a shortage of sugar cane some years back. This means that the government must strengthen the agriculture sector, since most of these firms obtain their raw materials from this sector.
This further, calls for the need to invest more into the Planting for Food and Jobs Initiative (PFJ) which has yielded some positive results so far.
The 1D1F program
The Government’s role in the 1D1F program is to facilitate the establishment of District Enterprises by creating the enabling environment including the provision of infrastructure such as access roads, water and electricity. The program is a private sector led initiative, however, the government can invest up to 30% equity in enterprises that require its participation.
The program aims at establishing at least one medium to large scale factory in all the 254 Districts in the country. This initiative is expected to impact positively and significantly on the economies of the Districts through creation of jobs, stable income for the residents and improved livelihoods. Currently, there are 76 companies that are operational under the program out of a total of 232 projects.
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