Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has promised to build a tomatoe processing factory in Akomadan in the Offinso North District, which is one of the leading tomatoe producing areas in the country, if he wins the polls.
According to Dr. Bawumia, the establishment of the tomatoe processing factory at Akomadan would form part of his grand vision of revolutionalising Ghana’s agriculture and creating wealth for its sector players, especially farmers.
Addressing a mammoth crowd on the second day of his 15-day tour of the Ashanti Region at Akomadan on Tuesday, he said the facility would provide ready market for tomatoe farmers and also create employment for the energetic youth in the community.
According to him, he is aware of the challenges that tomatoe farmers in Akomadan and nearby communities face, especially post harvest losses, stating that the tomatoes factory would go a long way to support farmers and other stakeholders.
He noted that under the District Agriculture Mechanisation programme, his government would provide modern farming machinery, including tractors and combine harvesters to all farming districts and create an effective irrigation system to boost productivity.
Dr. Bawumia said Ghana, currently, ranks 3rd in Africa in terms of food security as a result of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme, stressing that the NPP administration has worked assiduously to promote the agricultural sector.
“I will provide a tomato factory and also introduce a District Agriculture Mechanisation programme where modern machinery would be given to revolutionise farming. Again, there will be the setting up of an effective irrigation system to boost productivity,” he assured.
Dr. Bawumia also said his government would introduce a solar power for the generation of electricity instead of relying solely the costly oil and gas power production, saying, “This strategy would significantly reduce energy cost by 50 percent”.
According to him, it’s his vision to support women in trade, so his administration would provide market women with loans “for your businesses under the Women Trade Empowerment Fund. With this, the only requirement would be a Ghana Card.”
“We would also introduce a Buy-Ghana-First policy where all public institutions would give purchase priority to local products. The policy would allow for external purchasing when the local industry does not meet the purchasing demands or requirements,” he said.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi