Ghana has received the last batch of consignment of agricultural machinery from the Brazilian government to help improve the agriculture sector.
Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, received the batch in the company of the Editor of Ghanaian Times, Mr Dave Agbenu, the National Best Farmer, Mr Mashud Mohammed, Kadiri Osman, Greater Accra Best Farmer 2021, and Hannah Appenteng, Assembly woman for Ningo Prampram.
The consignment, received from the Brazilian government loaned at an estimated amount of US $96m, is to complement government’s flagship agricultural campaign, “Planting for Food and Jobs”.
The agriculture implements include heavy combine harvester (wheeled), high horsepower tractors, tractor attached implements, tractor trailer (haulage), tractor mounted planting/ sowing equipment, chemical applicator and post-harvest equipment/crop processing, cereal sheller, rice cutter, power tillers, maize threshers.
More Food Programme
“We are taking the last consignment of machinery from the Brazilian government under the More Food Programme, under which the Brazilian government loaned government of Ghana US $96m in three tranches. What you see here this morning is the last tranche of the third tranche of the facility worth US $30 million,” said the sector minister after a tour to inspect the machinery in Accra.
He further explained that the consignment, which were still being evacuated from the port, was essential as it would help improve harvesting, post harvesting and value addition, adding that, “it will also help the country achieve the goals of the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative which is hinged on the five modules namely food security, tree crop to diversify out of cocoa, greenhouse village, livestock and farm machinery modules.”
Dr Akoto said the machinery had attracted a subsidy of 40% to support farming industry, saying this decision was made under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government. He said MoFA would take note of the delivery of services they provided to the farmers to determine the degree to which they would expand the facilities.
