Akufo-Addo Throws Challenge To Farmers

His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo has challenged farmers in the Northern Region to increase their productivity to bring wealth and opportunities into the region.

According to the president, the Avnash Rice Mill in the Northern Region has been underutilized because due to the low inputs coming into the mill.

He said the stable peace and stability in the region is what encouraged investors like Avnash to invest in the region. He thus pleaded with the good people to continue to maintain the peace and stability in the region to attract more investors into the region.

The Avnash Rice Mill which has the capacity to thresh about 500 metric tons of rice per day and situated in the heart of Tamale, in the Northern Region, is the largest in Africa.

The Chief Executive Officer of Avnash Industries Ghana Limited, Jai Mirchandani said the company has adopted a policy which apart from training about 32,000 farmers will also create a million jobs in the region over a 5-year period.

Avnash is known for its use of local labour and local raw materials.

The Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said, the facility is being underutilized mainly because of the insufficient resources available to farmers, especially rice farmers in the region.

He revealed that, as part of the planting for food and jobs policy of the Akufo-Addo government, the plant was going to be made one of the pillars for the success of the policy.

This year, some 1100 metric tons of improved rice variety have been supplied to farmers for cultivation.

According to the sector minister, the supply will hit 8,000 metric tons next year which will see a rise in the cultivation of rice in the country.

In 2015, statistics from the ministry of agriculture reveals that, the nation spent $1.5 billion on rice imports alone, an amount, according to the agriculture minister, that can be saved and invested into the development of other facilities and projects.

FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale