Ghanaian investor appeals for support for planting for food policy
A United States based Ghanaian investor, Dr James Arthur, has appealed to the ruling New patriotic Party(NPP) government to release adequate funds to support the planting for food and jobs programme to enhance food sufficiency and export.
He said there was the need to speed up in assisting investors in the agric sector in both financial and farming inputs because the season for crops planting was ripe.
Dr Arthur, President and Chief Executive Officer of Na’adom Farms Company, made the appeal when the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gomoa Central, Naana Eyiah Quansah and Mr Benjamin Kojo Otoo, DCE nominee for Gomoa East visited the farms at Gomoa Osamkrom.
Dr Arthur said the policy of planting for food and jobs was an excellent one and there was the need for the government to empower investors in the agricultural sector to create wealth and jobs for Ghanaians.
He said local investors could not thrive due to stagnation in the financial sector, which had had negative impact on the economy.
The US based investor stated that Ghanaians were not ready to use millions of dollars to import food all the time, which affected the growth of food security.
Dr Arthur said the Na’adom Farms Company has secured a 19 million dollar loan facility from the African Development Bank (AFDB) to support production of raw materials to feed the factory.
He said the loan facility would help out-grower cassava farmers to use 15,000 acres of land to produce cassava.
The Investor said the factory would produce 200 tons of industrial starch daily from the cassava to supply to breweries in Ghana and outside the country.
He said due to the inability of the farmers to meet the factory’s demand more fresh cassava would be purchased from, Agona Nyakrom, Agona Otsenkorang, Agona Nkum, Awutu Bawjiase, Agona Bobikuma and Agona Abodom.
He said the Company has formed farmers cooperative in the Gomoa East and West, adding that the move was to convince chiefs and land owners to release more land for the cultivation of cassava farms.
Naana Eyiah Quansah, MP for Gomoa Central assured Dr Arthur that President Akufo-Addo led government was a capitalist one and that there was no way planting for food and jobs would be abandoned.
She said job creation should not be the government’s problem alone but it should be embraced by all to fulfil the promise made to Ghanaians.
The MP said the “One District one Factory” policy would soon take- off in 51 districts as asserted by the Head of the Economic Management Team, led by Dr Alhaji Mamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana.
She expressed the hope and confidence that chiefs in the Gomoa East and West Districts would release land for the one district one factory policy to create jobs and wealth for unemployed youth.
Source: GNA