Cassava farmers at Tsiame in the Keta Municipality have called for early discussions with Management of the proposed Cassava Processing Factory to avoid future problems.
The Municipal Assembly, in partnership with Hormeku Engineers and Planners (HoPE) Ltd, is going ahead with plans to establish an integrated cassava processing plant for the area under government’s One District One Factory (1D1F) project.
Mr Bernard Sukah, the spokesperson for the farmers at a sod-cutting ceremony for the factory at Tsiame-Dorveme, said it was important deliberations were held before the completion of work on the factory.
“It is our great joy as cassava farmers, who will serve as out-growers for this factory to witness the sod-cutting ceremony of this all-important project. This is a game-changer for us.”
“In as much as we’re happy about the coming of this factory, we don’t want any party who will be operating in the supply chain to be short-changed.
So, we’re appealing to HoPE Ltd to organise a discussion with us to establish some modalities on how they will be dealing with the out-growers when the factory starts its operation,” Mr Sukah said.
The group appealed to the government and other private organisations to support them with tractor services to enable them to engage in large scale farming to ensure the factory operates at its optimum capacity.
It said the expectations of the factory helping to reduce the rate of unemployment, post-harvest losses, providing a ready market for farmers, reducing rural-urban drift among others would only remain a mirage.
