By Josephine Akari
Torchbearer International Agriculture Investment Science and Technology, TIAST Group, in partnership with Stanbic Bank and the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority, GEPA, has held its 7th Agricultural Industrialization Conference in Accra.
The aim of the group is to promote financial and technical support for Cassava Farmers across the country by hammering the concept of value-addition through the establishment of a fully-automated factory for Cassava Farmers and investors by providing machinery for Cassava Farmers to facilitate cultivation.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman, First Machinery, William Oppong – Bio said TIAST has the mission to increase value in agriculture by bringing on board key stakeholders in the industry.
He called on individuals to grab the opportunities that TIAST and its partners present through Science and Technology and make the best out of them.
‘’There is an available market for the production of Cassava as a lot of Africans in the diaspora consume cassava. Gari is obtained from Cassava. Cassava can be exploited to gain a lot of income’’.
It can also serve as a source of livelihood for the employed youth which will solve the burden of unemployment in the country”, Mr. William Oppong –Bio stated.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of TIAST West Africa, Freca Xiawo, touched on challenges facing the Agriculture sector. He mentioned the lack of financial and technical support, technical know-how, strategic plans, ready markets and the lack of raw materials, technology services among others, as some of the challenges.
“TIAST Group conducted a survey by interacting with colleges, companies and Chiefs and the local people to find a solution to provide a win-win solution’’.
Head of Business Development and Origination at Stanbic Bank, Benedict Kwesi Obeng stressed that Agriculture is a major occupation of the majority of Africans as it employs about 70 % of people within the Continent. Stanbic Bank will coordinate with TIAST to provide mechanical support to Cassava farmers and also add value to the final products, as well as enable the farmers to be consistent in their productions in terms of quantity and quality to be able to approach standard Export Markets for full benefit of international market prices.
‘’Stanbic Bank is grateful to be part of this growth that drives the economy of Ghana. In 2010, Ghana was ranked the 6th World Best Producer of Cassava in terms of value. Covid-19 has negatively affected the economy’’.
‘’There must be innovative measures put in place to make Agriculture the resilient sector of the economy that is why Stanbic Bank has signed an MOU with TIAST and its partners to help the industry’’, Mr. Obeng stated.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Exports, Promotions Authority, GEPA, Director of Projects at GEPA, Alexander Dadzawa lauded the initiative describing it as variable and having the potential to improve the earnings from the traditional sector and serve as a major foreign exchange earner in employment creation for the country.
‘’This project falls within our major pillars on the non-traditional part of the national export development strategy which outlines strategies that must be implemented to strengthen and increase the supply base of key products for exports’’.
He added that Industrial starch has been earmarked as one of the priority products under the Export Development Strategy due to its vast potentials in the Chinese market.
“GEPA, collaborates with Nananom to provide support in Supply Base Expansion and Market Access to ensure that the right volumes of the right type of cassava are produced all year round’’, according to Mr. Dadzawa emphasized.
The forum is held annually to design, manufacture and install agricultural processing machinery, provide financial leasing of equipment, training on agricultural industrialization, and also, provide agricultural product off-take.
