Quality Grains Project would not be relocated -Quashigah

Food and Agriculture Minister, Major Courage Quashigah (rtd) has hinted that the Quality Grain Project at Aveyime would not be relocated as being speculated despite the problems surrounding it at the moment.

He said extra land was even needed for the installation of more equipment and expansion of the farm and asked the chiefs of the area to release more land for the project.

Major Quashigah was addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of the Bakpa Traditional Area in the North-Tongu Area during the Klokpo festival.

The festival marked their sojourn at Ketu, near Abeokuta in Nigeria and Notsie in Togo before moving to their present settlement ages ago.

Major Quashigah said two valleys in the area would be studied for irrigation to provide jobs and income for the people in the area.

The Minister lamented that though more than 500 million gallons of water from the Akosombo Dam empties into the Atlantic Ocean every second "we have failed to utilise it to irrigate vast tracts of arable land".

"It is regrettable and shameful that we import food from Mali and Burkina Faso in the desert", he said.

Major Quashigah reminded chiefs to avoid land litigation as it delayed and discouraged investment and development.

The Minister, who cut the sod for a 1.9 billion cedis water project for more than 20 communities in the area, asked the people to bury their political differences since the elections were over and to unite for development.

He asked various political leaders to show the way by coming together for the average man to take a cue from them.