…So Far $2.5m Sunk In It

An ultra modern one stop complex for agricultural produce is currently under construction at Social Welfare area in Madina, near Accra.

The complex consists of an abattoir, cold store, warehouse for storage and mini market and works are 80 per cent complete.

So far, an amount of $2.5million has been spent on the project which is the brain child of Mr. Ohene Agyekum, a businessman.

According to him, he was motivated by the hardship that farmers go through and decided to come up with the project.

He told The Enquirer during a facility visit that, hopefully, the project would be completed in the first quarter of 2012.
“We are doing all that we can to complete this laudable project in April, next year,” he said.
Mr. Agyekum said that the project would employ over 300 people at the initial stage and would be increased to 500 later.
According to him, farmers must be made to feel that they are very important in the economic development of the nation.
“The whole concept is to deal directly with the farmers, be they animal farmers or food crop farmers,” he said.

Touching on the abattoir, he said that it would the first of its kind in the country, as it would have international specification.
“We are going to have a kraal and pen to keep the animals that will be brought from the hinterlands,” he said.
Mr. Agyekum told The Enquirer that the warehouse and the cold store facility are to address post-harvest losses which are a major problem that farmers face.
“We are going to deal with the farmers in a way that will let them have the right prices for their produce,” he added.
He said that the situation where certain commodities get short on the market would be addressed properly when the project is completed.
“The materials and other equipment for the construction of the facility are of premium quality because the project is very dear to our heart,” he said.
He said that agriculture would have its full potential as the backbone of the economy if there is strong private participation.
“I could have used the money for the usual buy-and-sell business that has engulfed the country but I feel that our farmers should be properly be dealt with,” he said.
Mr. Agyekum, who told The Enquirer that he was a son of a farmer, said that the project is of international standard to serve the needs of consumers all over the country.
He said that he would go into full time farming after the commencement of operations.
According to him, the complex would be operated with high standards that would stand the test of time.