GHANA – KEDAN Ltd, an agribusiness firm with activities in maize and soyabean is set to invest US$5 million by 2019 to increase daily production in a maize processing factory it recently inaugurated in Tumu, Ghana.
The funds will be used in improving the company’s working capital for raw material aggregation, construction of silos, irrigation facilities, and expansion of warehouses, employment creation and procurement of new equipment.
According to Business Ghana, the details were revealed during the commissioning of a new 30 metric tons maize processing factory in Tumu.
The new factory assures farmers of ready market for more than 7000 metric tons of their produce every year.
Mr. Eric Dankwa Kissi, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the KEDAN Limited said that the factory would help eliminate the problem of middlemen who often cheat producers by dictating prices of the produce to poor farmers.
The factory in no doubt is going to serve as a major sustainable and reliable market for maize produce of our farmers, serve as employment creation avenue for the teaming unemployed youth, source of diverse value added maize products for industrial as well as domestic consumption and addressing malnutrition challenges,” he said
He appealed to farmers to take advantage of the ready market to increase production and make more income to support their families.
According to him, access to credit and finance for upstream and downstream agriculture in Ghana remained a major challenge.
“It is never available and if available at all, it is at harsh conditions and at a high interest rate that can end up collapsing your business and making you highly indebted to the banks,” he said.
Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister commenting on the matter said the factory matched government’s “One-District-One-Factory” (1D1F) policy initiative.
He said government would continue to create enabling environment for private sector growth for the creation of more jobs for the teeming unemployed youth.
