Agric Plant Pool Set Up In Tamale

Agricultural mechanisation in the three northern regions is to receive a major boost following the setting up of an agricultural plant pool in Tamale to serve farmers in that part of the country.

The project will cost US$4.2million and will make available modern agricultural equipment, including tractors, bulldozers, planters, boom sprayers, harvesters, threshers, seed selectors and grain transporters to farmers.

The National Association of Agric Mechanisation Service Centre Operators (NAAMSECO) is to set up the centre through a special funding arrangement.

Under the arrangement, the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) will provide 40 per cent of the funds as a grant as part of its matching grants initiative.

The Stanbic Bank Ghana will make available 50 per cent of the amount in the form of a loan, while NAAMSECO is required to commit the remaining 10 per cent as an equity contribution.

The Chairman of NAAMSECO, Mr Lawrence Addison and his vice, Mr Isaac Azadagli made this known to the Daily Graphic in Tamale.

“We want to ensure that all processes in the production chain – from land preparation to bagging of produce – are carried out at the centre with the aid of machines, instead of labour”, Mr Azadagli explained.

“We are also acquiring vehicles to transport the produce to storage and market centres”, he further indicated.

Already the association has acquired space for offices and workshops for the plant pool.

“We expect that by the end of July the equipment will be in the country and delivered to the centre to support farmers during this year’s farming season”, Mr Addison hinted.

They said NAAMSECO was currently operating 84 mechanisation centres in various parts of the country, with 48 of them situated in parts of the three northern regions.

They entreated tractor operators in the three regions to link up with the association to enable them to benefit from a planned training programme in modern land preparation.

They commended the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi for his support to the organisation, adding that fruitful collaboration between MoFA and NAAMSECO would yield positive results for Ghana’s agriculture.

The government has over the past few years, focused its attention on transforming the country’s agriculture from subsistence to commercial.

However, this required the injection of heavy agricultural implement to replace the hoe and cutlass business to make land preparation, planting and harvesting quicker and more effective.