ADB BOARD CHAIRMAN PRAISES FARMER (PAGE 54, MAY 31, 2010)

THE Board Chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Mr Ibrahim Adams, has lauded the management of Kwanim G.D.K. Farm, a 1,000-hectare mechanised farm at Kwanim in the Kwahu North District in the Eastern Region, for contributing significantly to food security in the country.
He has therefore recommended the farm to be considered as a model that should be replicated across the country.
According to him, that would help empower indigenous individual farmers and private companies to embark on mechanised farming to contribute towards increased food production in Ghana.
Mr Adams, who toured Kwanim G.D.K Farm with the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said “ADB has so far invested GH¢3 million in this farm and is committed to the success of the project since it is the only properly managed mechanised farm in the country now.”
The visit was to enable the ADB Board Chairman to have first-hand insight into the achievements and challenges of the farm, especially the delay in the completion of its two 10,000-metric tonne warehouses.
The project, which has been described by Mr Adams as an integral part of the farm, was expected to be completed in December 2009 but lack of finance, purloins and appropriate welding machines have delayed it.
The ADB Board Chairman said since agriculture was the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, the government was determined to support the cultivation of mechanised farming across the country to enhance food production and security.
Mr Adams hinted that following the success of Kwanim G. D.K. Farm, the ADB had decided to replicate mechanised farming in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.
He urged the management of Kwanim G.D.K. Farms to diversify its operations to include the establishment of a mill to add value to its produce, such as animal feed, to support animal husbandry and fish farming in the country.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo described Kwanim G.D.K. Farm as a private project that had now become “a national asset, currently contributing to food security in the country.”
He therefore expressed the commitment of the government to facilitate the expansion and development of the farm, adding that “we will support the construction of access roads and street lights to the farm.”
He appealed to farmers and interested individuals to take advantage of cage fish farming in the Volta Lake, which he described as “more lucrative and rewarding.”
The Executive Chairman of Kwanim G.D.K. Farm, Mr Alex Tenkorang, said out of the over 8,500 hectares of land acquired for the cultivation of maize and other crops, management had only been able to cultivate 450 hectares of the land with maize, 60 hectares with soya beans and 20 hectares with water melon.
According to him, his outfit planned to cultivate about 500 hectares of various crops this year, but persistent rainfall, which had made ploughing of the land difficult, seemed to undermine the company’s ability to achieve the target for the year.
Mr Tenkorang identified lack of access roads, street lights and finance as some of the challenges facing the expansion of the farm project.
He appealed to the government and the ADB to support the development aspirations of the farm.