The Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) is far advanced with its arrangement to increase the nation’s rice cultivation through Public-Private-Partnership.
With the objective of decreasing rice importation, management has secured 400,000 hectares of fertile land at the Nasia/Nabogu inland valleys in the Northern Region for commercial rice cultivation.
The project Coordinator, Charles Nornoo, on the sidelines at a four-day retreat in Tamale, revealed that nine out of 63 applicants have so far been selected to begin with the first phase.
“We have planned to do it in phases and so for this very first phase, we are working with nine farmers who were selected from the 63 to do approximately 3,000 hectares.”
“We also have 10,000 hectares that is ready for private sector people to come for but they have to do a major irrigation infrastructure. That is the construction of two dams to be able to do 11,000 hectares of rice.”
He said the necessary infrastructural development would be put in place at the Nasia/Nabogu inland valleys to support the farmers.
“We are much more interested in continuing to work with the out-growers to create more jobs in the area. Sustainability is what we are doing and we are ensuring that the agreement we sign with the farmers is such that they will work there for a minimum of five years before they move elsewhere, and we are investing so much in infrastructure to the extent that it will last for 20 years.”
He anticipated that by the middle of June 2016, the first phase will begin and will reduce unemployment.
According to Charles Nornoo, GCAP’s major priority is to promote all year-round rice cultivation for local consumption and export.
As a Government of Ghana project, the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) is a private sector oriented and demand-driven project financed with a loan of US $100 million from the World Bank, and a grant of US $45 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase access to land, private sector finance, input-output-markets by smallholder farms from Public-Private Partnerships in commercial agriculture in Accra Plains and SADA zones.
The project is being implemented in some selected communities and districts in the SADA zones comprising the three regions of the north, the Accra plains, parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.
GCAP is placing premium on farmers who cultivate maize, rice, soya beans, fruits and vegetables in the earmarked areas.
The ultimate project beneficiaries are smallholder farmers who will avail themselves to new income generating opportunities through formal arrangements with nucleus farmers in commercial agricultural ventures.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana