Due to lack of cassava to feed the gari processing factory at a village called Adoe in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo Region, the over 20 workers who used to work at the facility have abandoned the machines in the bush at the mercy of the weather.
Ironically, the Adoe community on Friday played host to this year’s district farmers’ day celebration ahead of the national farmers’ day which comes off at Kintampo in the same region on the 4th of November as a result of changes on the national calendar due to the December polls.
Speaking to the manager of the defunct project alongside the district farmers’ day celebration, Mohammed Seidu said the factory which was established for them by a white philanthropist in 2013 had to be abandoned due to lack of cassava.
According to him, they started well, producing 5 maxi bags of gari a day but due to the shortage of cassava, the workers had no choice but to look for job elsewhere. Equipment such as corn mill, oven, dryer, cassava washing basin were all left in the bush under the vagaries of the weather.
The Sunyani West District Agriculture Director, Richard Donkor blamed lack of rains as the cause of the problem. He was, however, unable to give statistics as to the production level of cassava in the district let alone the region.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ day event had only a few crops like cassava, cocoyam, plantain, maize, yam and a sparse number of livestock on display; a phenomenon many described as discouraging.
The District Chief Executive, Agnes Kusi implored the youth and the farmers to take advantage of various government interventions like the Ghana Agriculture Sector Investment Programme and Fertilizer Subsidy Project to boost agric in the district. She said the theme for this year’s celebration, Agriculture: A Business Response to Economic Growth indicated government’s readiness to transform farming into a lucrative venture so urged the youth to patronize it.
46 year old Martin Noharo was adjudged the district best farmer. He went home with a motorbike, wax prints, wellington boots among other prizes.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani