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Business News for Thursday, October 15, 2020
Source: GNA
2020-10-15
The project is to guarantee a reliable water supply for growing vegetables throughout the year.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) commissioned a GH ¢ 2.7 million (USD 462,000) irrigation and packaging system for vegetable growers at Michel Camp in the Greater Accra region’s Kpone Katamanso municipality on Wednesday.
This is to ensure a reliable water supply for growing vegetables throughout the year, improve quality and improve post-harvest handling and packing sorting, as well as to facilitate market access to improve your income.
The project, which began in 2019, includes the rehabilitation and modernization of part of the irrigation infrastructure, the construction of a deposit in the field, a solar-powered irrigation pump, a vegetable packing house for cleaning and packaging of vegetable products and a bath.
It is part of the Ghana Peri-urban Vegetable Value Chain Project (GPVVCP), funded by a GH ¢ 16,530,000 (USD 2.85 million) grant from the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) and administered by the World Bank ( BM) Fund arrangement.
The GPVVCP, which began in 2017, seeks to improve productivity and market access by beneficiary vegetable growers in selected peri-urban communities, as well as to improve agronomic practices of small-scale vegetable growers, to complete the Sowing. for food and jobs from MOFA and Export and Rural Development Programs.
Commissioning the project at Michel Camp on behalf of Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister of the MoFA, Mr. Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Vice Minister of Agriculture in charge of Horticulture, said that several farmers had been linked to eight Entrepreneurs of Production Association ( PPES), including AB Farm Ventures, Akuafo TV and Investments Limited, Farm Direct, Fruit Masters as Buyers.
He said farmers, in the coming days, would also be trained by Agricultural Extension Officers to enable them to address challenges related to pests, agronomy and harvesting.
He praised the Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement between the army and the farmers that had ensured the smooth operation of the plan.
“It is expected that this model developed here will be implemented later for the management of other public schemes of small farmers and communities,” he said.
Mr. Nyarko also commended the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) and the World Bank for providing the financial support for the implementation of the project.
Mr. Osei Owusu Agyemang, Project Coordinator, Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) said that as part of the Ministry’s Climate Smart Agriculture practices, the Project had planted 1,200 trees to restore the microclimate in the area to ensure the environmental sustainability.
He said that a Business Manager was appointed to manage the interface between farmers, PPEs and other stakeholders, to minimize the mistrust and misinformation challenges that had plagued the sector over the years.
“An Advisory Board would be established to provide guidance to the Camp Michel Irrigation Plan and would be comprised of representatives from the Ghana Armed Forces, the Kpone Katamanso Municipal Assembly, the Camp Michel Farmers Association, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the PPE.
“These sustainability interventions are considered novel for such irrigation schemes and are expected to be repeated in similar irrigation schemes in the country,” explained Mr. Agyemang.
Dr Sheu Salau, World Bank Task Force Leader, tasked GCAP and its partners with ensuring proper maintenance of the facilities to extend service life.
Dr. Salau also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide regular technical assistance and training to farmers so that they can adopt and use modern agricultural practices to improve productivity.
The GPVVCP is also being implemented in three other districts; Angorsikope in the Ada East district of the Greater Accra region, Hikpo in the South Tongu district of the Volta region and Asokwa in the Asokwa municipality of the Ashanti region.
The project is being implemented by MoFA through GCAP, the Crop Services Directorate and the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA).
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