Volta River Estates Ltd

Volta River Estates Ltd (VREL) was set up in 1988 as a joint-venture between Ghana and The Netherlands and was Ghana’s first commercial banana export operation. In 2012 it produced 4,400 tonnes of bananas, 67% of which were certified organic.

VREL is located in Ghana’s Eastern region in the Akwamu area. There are four banana-growing sections to the estate that covers 250 hectares and employs 441 people. More than 95% of the workforce have permanent contracts and receive a wage 40% higher than the Ghanian government minimum wage. They are also looking to more than double the workforce to 1,000 people in the coming years.

Things haven’t always gone so well for VREL. Early in their existence they experienced a major setback when a fungal disease affecting the leaves of the banana plants and wiped out their first crop. Although they have had continual success in…