CUSTOMER PROFILE
The Ghanaian horticultural sector exports 70,000 tons of fruits and 20,000 tons of vegetables annually. The agricultural industry, composed mainly of smallholder enterprises, employs more than 50% of the country’s labor force.
ISSUE/BACKGROUND
The European Union (EU) imposed an embargo on fruits and vegetables from Ghana in response to several cases of contamination. Losses to the country’s economy have been estimated at $15 million annually. From 2012 to 2015, the number of plants from Ghana intercepted at EU borders due to the presence of harmful organisms increased significantly, leading Ghana to face the highest number of interceptions globally in 2015. In October 2015, the European Commission decided to prohibit the introduction of five plant commodities from Ghana into the EU market until the end of December 2016.
CHALLENGE
Ghana must find solutions to improve the safety of these products and regain the confidence of the European Commission.
THE SOLUTION
To help solve this issue and provide a truly effective solution, OPTEL’s Geotraceability experts partnered with a number of reputable organizations and concerned
stakeholders. This project was finance by USAID and IESC.
The result was a complete, user-centric traceability system that covers all the steps required for the exportation of fruits and vegetables (F&V) and includes all the operators in a multistakeholder value chain.
It encompasses:
BENEFITS
RESULTS
OPTEL’s Geotraceability software is currently used in 17 countries in similar contexts and for various products. The solution has been tried and tested in all these cases and has a very successful track record.
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Real-world applications of traceability solutions. OPTEL is a multinational traceability solution provider helping Fortune 500 companies tackle food fraud challenges and improve supply chain visibility.