In a bold effort to promote sustainable livelihoods and provide legal alternatives to illegal mining, the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation has launched ECOPALMS GH, a community-based agribusiness venture focused on raising high-quality oil palm seedlings for local farmers.
The official launch took place at Pepesa in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality on Friday, 27th June 2025, where stakeholders, local leaders, and community members gathered to celebrate this game-changing initiative.
According to Mr. Abdul-Razak Yakubu, Executive Director of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, the idea for ECOPALMS GH was inspired by the logistical and financial challenges the Foundation faced in sourcing oil palm seedlings from distant areas such as Kadé in the Eastern Region.
The long transportation distances not only increased costs but also weakened the seedlings due to the stress of travel, he added.
To address this, the Foundation acquired land in Pepesa with the support of the local community and helped 18 local residents—15 women and 3 men—form a registered company: ECOPALMS GH.
With technical and administrative assistance from the Business Resource Division of the Municipal Assembly, the group received training in nursery management and business operations.
In just eight months, ECOPALMS GH successfully raised 24,000 oil palm seedlings. The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation is purchasing 23,000 of these seedlings for distribution to oil palm farmers, while the remaining 1,000 seedlings have been reserved for the company to sell independently, marking the beginning of their own market linkages.
The Executive Director of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, speaking further on the project, said: “We’re encouraging them to explore their own customers now because Gold Fields won’t be buying forever.
“This model allows them to test the market while we continue to support them for three consecutive years. After that, they’ll be fully integrated into the broader agribusiness economy,” Mr. Abdul-Razak stressed.
He further disclosed that the Foundation’s target is to assist 500 oil palm farmers over the course of the three-year project.
He indicated that the 18-member ECOPALMS GH group will serve solely as the seedling producers for this initiative, creating a symbiotic relationship between them and the wider farming community.
The Foundation invested approximately GHS 170,000 to GHS 180,000 in setting up the nursery, and the group is now expected to generate more than GHS 280,000 in revenue from seedling sales.
The seedlings are being purchased at GHS 12 per seedling, below market value, which can reach up to GHS 27.
According to him, this isn’t just social responsibility but economic empowerment. “We want the youth and community members to see that legal ventures like this can be more rewarding than illegal mining.”
Mr. Isaac Darko of the Oil Palm Research Institute also hailed the initiative and stated that oil palm is Ghana’s second most important cash crop, yet the country still faces an annual production deficit of 150,000 metric tons, producing only 300,000 metric tons against a demand of 450,000 metric tons.
“This is why the government set up the Tree Crop Development Authority,” he explained, “to ensure certification and quality control in every aspect of the value chain, ECOPALMS GH fits into this national agenda because they source their planting materials from CSIR, a certified body, to avoid adulterated seedlings and ensure high yields.”
Solomon Quaicoo, team lead at ECOPALMS GH, also expressed excitement about the future and encouraged Ghanaian youth to embrace agriculture as a path to financial freedom.
“This is not just farming, it’s a real business. We’ve seen firsthand the profit in seedling production. If more young people tap into this, they won’t need to risk their lives in illegal mining.”
The launch of ECOPALMS GH by Gold Fields Ghana Foundation is more than a CSR project, it’s a sustainable model for rural development, economic empowerment, and environmental protection.
It offers a clear, profitable path for youth and farmers alike one that cultivates growth, not destruction.
