A South African consortium, GHANSA Investments Limited (GIL), is to establish a $300 million farm in the country to produce poultry, catfish, maize and sorghum.

The company is expected to begin its operation in the country next year with the first batch of farmers arriving in January.

The Chief Executive of the group, Mr Rudolf J. Smith, disclosed this in a presentation at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) last Friday and stated that the group intended to bring more than 700 large-scale South African farmers into the country.

For that purpose, he pointed out, the company had acquired over 30,000 hectares close to Sogakope in the South Tongu District in the Volta Region.

Mr Smith said the company would begin with 40,000 chicks and 117 tonnes of catfish, a maize production base of 100,000 tonnes and another 100,000 tonnes of sorghum.

He said the company would employ 1000 Ghanaians on a full-time basis and create more marketing avenues for persons interested in packaged fish and poultry distribution.

He stated that aside employment opportunities, the company was committed to skill transfer and the improvement of the local communities in which it would operate.

He said the provision of social amenities like schools, houses and clinics formed part of the company’s social responsibility for communities in which it would operate.

Mr Smith was optimistic that the project would help ensure food security for the country and ultimately position the country strongly for the export market.

A director of the company, Mr E.K. Agodzo, said Ghana was selected because of its political climate, which is friendly for investment.

He indicted that there were other farmers in South Africa who were interested in either a joint venture with their Ghanaian counterparts or the assurance of the Ghana government guarantee in order to relocate to Ghana.

The acting Director of Crop Services Directorate of MoFA, Mr Kwaku Nicol, expressed satisfaction with the proposal, saying the ministry would work towards making the project a reality.

He said the ministry would facilitate land allocation to the company throughout the country to ensure that the company’s investment spread all over the country to meet its production target.

Mr Nicol told the Daily Graphic that the arrival of the group would assist to save the ailing poultry industry especially as it had given assurance of a sustainable feed production.

“One problem killing the poultry industry is the feed, it constitutes about 70 per cent of the cost of the whole industry,” he emphasised.

Mr Nicol observed that the local poultry industry would also benefit immensely from the day old chicks, since the commodity was a scarce resource in Ghana.

Earlier, the group was at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) headquarters to discuss possible areas of co-operation between the two bodies.

The Managing Director of ADB, Mr Stephen Kpordzi, welcomed the idea of a joint venture and pledged the bank’s support to the farmers to achieve the expected result.

The group’s first visit to the country was in March 2009 when they paid a courtesy call on the President and the Vice-President. Their current visit also took them to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

Source: Daily Graphic

Tags: day old chicks, farmers, land, south-africa