SADA to establish three agro processing factories - Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday announced that the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) will establish three agro processing factories in Northern Region to enhance the livelihoods of the people.

He said the factories would include a sheanut processing factory, a rice mill factory and a vegetable oil mill factory, which would be located at Buipe, Nyankpala and Tamale.

President Mahama who was delivering the State of the Nations address stated that the Produce Buying Company of the Cocoa Board was raising capital to begin sheanut purchases to feed the factory.

He said agriculture was the key part of SADA agenda and in the spirit of public-private partnership SADA had facilitated partnerships to establish the factories

The factories, he explained, would benefit many poor women in the savannah zone and out growers were being registered to meet the requirements of those factories.

President Mahama announced that last year, SADA supported 6,000 farming families with fertilizers, improved seeds and provided 100 tractors for land preparation services.

“It would this year support 16,000 farmers with farm inputs and would partner with a private sector group to grow and nurture 5 million trees in the next 12 months as part of its efforts at greening the Northern Savannah ecological zone,” he said.

President Mahama said he has directed a team in his office and the National Development Planning Commission [NDPC) to work closely with the two Regional Coordinating Councils and relevant stakeholders towards establishment and the smooth implementation framework of the Western Corridor Development Authority (WACDA).

The WACDA comprises Western and Central regions and the implementation framework for it was currently under development, President Mahama said.