Atebubu (B/A), July 28, GNA - Atebubu-Amantin District Assembly has embarked on commercial rice farming on 50 acres of land to boost internally generated funds.

The project will also create employment, business opportunities and economic growth as well as encourage market-led rice farming in the district.

The envisaged long-term growth of the project will help reduce rural poverty and contribute significantly to Ghana's quest for self-sufficiency in rice production.

Mr. Sanja Nanja, the District Chief Executive, told the GNA that with technical assistance of ADVANCE (Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement, a USAID-sponsored program that has been working in the district), the project stands the chance of achieving an improved yield of 4.5 metric tonnes (MT) per hectare, up from the national average of 2MT per hectare, with an expected revenue of GHc 134,000 per season.

He said the call on the assemblies to go beyond dependency on the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) meant improving the existing system of the IGF through transparency and efficiency.

Mr Sanjay said this did not imply complete diversion from the traditional IGF sources of tolls, rates and taxes but rather an innovation by identifying the economic potentials of the district and exploiting them for additional income.

The district is host to agrarian communities where cultivation of crops like cereals, tubers, vegetables, and legumes remain the predominant occupation of the majority of the people.

Mr. Nanja said the District Assembly had projected the cultivation of 100 acres of rice annually and about 2,600 bags are expected at the end of every crop season.

He commended ADVANCE for the provision of technical and managerial assistance to the project.

ADVANCE has linked the Assembly to the Crop Research Institute, as the source for an improved rice seed variety (Jasmine 85), as well as to an input dealer for the supply of agro chemicals. These relationships will help the project to continue after ADVANCE, a four year program, has stepped aside.

Mr Nanja said the rice would be targeted to local schools through the Ghana School Feeding Program as well as SAMSAKAT Ventures in Accra, an ADVANCE-linked market outlet.

Mr. Samuel Otu-Asare, District Finance Officer (DFO), said he was optimistic that the project would be a success to enable the assembly to expand the cultivation of yam, cassava, maize, and vegetables.