GhanaVeg Partners Sunripe Processing Company Ltd.

Greetings from Sunripe!

Sunripe Food Processing Company Limited produces natural fruit juices such as Pineapple, Mango, Orange and other assorted products. Under the GhanaVeg partnered project, Sunripe is undertaking among other things the upgrade of the factory to increase the volume of water melons being processed from 10 tons a week to 50 tons a week with varieties of vegetables such as red sweet or yellow peppers, ginger and cucumbers.

The project objective

• Improve the quality and consistency of supply of fruits and vegetables for processing.
• Increase the yield of production of vegetables and fruits for better pricing for company and additional income for farmers.
• Reduction of post-harvest losses of non-exportable grade of fruits in the country.
• Increase its product range to satisfy the high-value end of the market.
• Increase net earnings and foreign exchange earning the company, farmers and the nation.
• Contribute to national goals of wealth creation for small scale farmers.
• Provide a healthier alternative to carbonated soft drinks with their attendant negative attributes on health

The project focuses on four components

The project will also involve the development of new products for the high end market such as fruit and vegetable blends of fruit juice and smoothies currently being imported. This took place in the first quarter of 2016 with supervision by company’s plant manager and engineer and implemented external engineering firms and food science consultants.

The project also involves training of existing farmers as the major factor affecting the quality of fruits and vegetables on the current market is the poor agronomic practices and general lack of standards in the industry. The project seeks to correct the situation by the selection and training of 12 existing farmers to cultivate one hectare of existing varieties of watermelon such as Sugar baby, Florida giant.

The variety of seeds planted, soil and agronomic practices determine the final quality of the crop (especially the brix, colour and yield) in the third quarter activities of 2016 the company seeks to establish 1 hectare demonstration farm to introduce new varieties of fruit and vegetables into the industry, suitable for processing and export. The project will produce six varieties of watermelon including seedless ones, yellow fruits and normal ones with high brix and rich colour. Varieties include Treasure Chest, Yellow Doll, Tiger, Sayda and Adaman Half an acre of cucumber and sweet peppers will be cultivated for blending with watermelons. Selected variety of cucumber and sweet pepper include Nandini FV Hybrid and others. A compost site will also be attached to the demonstration site to provide fertilizer for the farmers and reduce solid waste management in the district.

The fourth quarter activities of 2016 involves the introduction, training and support of new varieties to 120 farmers for adoption and production of fruits and vegetables for processing, local market and  for Export export.

Contact Sunripe on the Nsawam Road.