Land Earmarked For Construction Of 3 Factories At Savelugu

The government has commenced its much-touted one-district-one factory project in the Savelugu/Nanton municipality of the Northern Region, by earmarking some land for the construction of three factories there.

A cassava processing plant will be constructed at Diare, a Sugarcane factory at Kadia and a tomato processing factory at Nabogu.

These initiatives are intended to improve the earnings of smallholder farmers and also to create jobs for the unemployed masses.

One of the shortlisted companies, PT&T Ghana Limited has been given the license to establish the cassava processing factory on site.

The Chief Executive Officer of PT&T Ghana Ltd, Prince Mohammed Toufik Tikomah, at a media briefing, promised to complete the factory on schedule.

According to him, smallholder farmers would be supported with stimulus packages and farm inputs including subsidized fertilizer to improve their yields.

He gave the assurance that the support would be regular in order to enable the farmers to meet the estimated targets for the factory’s sustainability.

“The company will buy the cassava products from farmers in the area and each farmer will subsequently be given a bank account where their monies will be deposited,” he said

Prince Toufik Tikumah added that “The health conditions of the farmers will be taken care of. Farmers who will be employed in the company will enjoy periodic screening to ensure that they are healthy.”

The Savelugu-Nanton Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hajia Ayishetu Seidu, noted that the government is investing GHc9 million in the cassava processing factory.

She stated that ‘the factory will help increase the income of hardworking farmers and create employment for the youth which is expected to reduce the high rate of urban-rural migration in the area.”

She said her administration will closely monitor and coordinate the factory’s operations to ensure its success.

Traditional leaders in the district promised to allocate grazing sites for the herds of nomadic herdsmen prevent the destruction of farmlands.

Smallholder farmers in the municipality thanked the government for the opportunity and vowed to take advantage of it to improve their livelihood.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave assurances during his campaign, which he reiterated last year, that each of the 216 districts across the country would get a factory during his administration.

According to him, the setting up of these factories across the country, will not only ensure the rapid industrialization of Ghana's economy but also, result in the creation of thousands of jobs, needed by the masses of unemployed Ghanaian youth.

Each district to get Ghc2m for 1 district, 1 factory

The Ministry of Finance while reading the 2018 budget statement said the government will allocate at least GhC2 million to each metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies for the implementation of the one district, one factory programme.

During the presentation of the 2018 budget statement, the Minister said that 191 companies had already been selected for implementation

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana