GH₵38 Million Needed To Operationalise Walewale Watermelon Factory - Trade Minister
Government has disclosed that an additional ₵38 million cedis is required to fully operationalise the Walewale Watermelon Factory, which has remained non-functional months after its official commissioning. The factory, inaugurated in November 2024 by former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, was intended to tackle the recurring issue of post-harvest losses faced by watermelon farmers in Walewale and surrounding areas.
The facility was established by Champion Foods and Beverages with financial support from Ghana Eximbank, under the government’s flagship One District, One Factory (1D1F) programme. However, despite the commissioning, the factory has yet to commence operations. Responding to questions in Parliament on Tuesday, July 8, the Minister for Trade, Industry, and Agribusiness, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare, said efforts are ongoing to secure the required funding to ensure the factory becomes fully functional. “As of now, the amount they need is GH₵38 million, and I am working with Exim to ensure that we help them with that fund. The factory has not produced the juice yet.
The factory is not ready yet,” the Minister explained. She further clarified that the current facility is dedicated solely for concentrate production, and a second factory is required for bottling, which has not yet been established. “There needs to be a second factory before we can say that the factory is being operationalised because that factory is solely for the production of concentrate. We need the bottling factory to be established. That factory is not ready, and I don’t know what it was commissioned for,” she stated.
