GHANA – A Chinese Entrepreneur, Mr Sun Qiang is seeking to invest US$10 million in the establishment of a cassava processing factory in Asenyansu, Ghana to produce ethanol.
According to reports by Ghana News Agency, the facility which is expected to be completed in the early part of next year will have a processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of ethanol per year.
Mr Qiang revealed that, he had acquired 5,000 acres of land in separate communities to cultivate cassava in order to stock the factory with raw material.
The plantation has offered job opportunities for 500 farmers and the factory once operational will create employment for over 700 youth.
This according to Mr Qiang will addressed the issue of unemployment and reduced rural- urban migration.
He added that it was his utmost priority to ensure that the people in the community improved their livelihood through the creation of jobs instead of indulging in social vices such as the illegal felling of trees, alcoholism, and teenage pregnancy among others.
Ghana ranks among the top five cassava producers in Africa with an annual average production of 16 million metric tons.
Cassava is the most important root crop in Ghana with the estimated total land put under production being 900,000 hectares, indicated Ghana Export Promotion Authority.
Over 70% of farmers in the country engage in cassava production, and the sector contributes to about 22% of Agricultural GDP.
Ghana ranks among the top five cassava producers in Africa with an annual average production of sixteen million metric tons.
At least eighteen different improved varieties of cassava are produced in commercial quantities for diverse uses such as for starch, flour, ethanol and chips.
Recently, the government through the One District One Factory revealed plans of launching a cassava processing factory in Keta District.
They have partnered with Hormeku Engineers and Planners (HoPE) Limited, to provide the factory with the necessary capital required for completion and commissioning.
The factory to produce cassava derivatives would have the capacity to process 35 tonnes of fresh cassava per day and will be served with a 65-acre cassava farm.
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