The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has inaugurated a rice processing factory in the Savelugu Municipality of the Northern Region.

The factory which has the capacity to produce 1.5 and 2.8 tonnes of processed rice per hour is under the government's One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

The event was held under the theme "Boosting Local Enterprise For Job Creation and Economic Prosperity Towards a Ghana Beyond Aid."

The Savelugu rice processing factory, the latest to be inaugurated adds to several local enterprises boosted by the 1D1F.

To ensure efficiency and to serve its intended purposes, Mr Kyerematen also swore into office a nine-member board of directors to oversee the management and operations of the factory.

Mr Kyerematen also inaugurated the Savelugu Technology Solution Centre to facilitate the production of spare parts and repair services and the manufacturing of agro-processing equipment.

The centre under the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) and the GRATIS Foundation is to provide training for human resource and capacity building for various businesses in the area, including the factory.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony last Wednesday (December 28, 2022) at Savelugu, Mr Kyerematen said the rice processing factory would go a long way to increase the productivity of farmers and create jobs in the area.

He said it would also help increase the incomes of the farmers in the area by adding value to their produce to enable them to become more competitive on the market.

Touching on the centre, Mr Kyerematen said it was expected to support not only the rice factory, but to also provide modern-day technology support services to all factories in its catchment area.

He gave the assurance that the Ministry would continue to create the enabling business environment to ensure the sustainability of businesses.

The National Director of the REP, Akwasi Attah Antwi, said the factory was expected to employ about 118 people, including management professionals, factory floor workers and plantation workers, who would work on the nucleus rice farms.

 He said, “In addition, over 754 farmers in the Savelugu Municipality and neighbouring communities will be directly engaged to supply rice to the factory.”

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu said the factory would serve as a catalyst that would bring about the needed development in the region while enhancing food security in the country.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Savelugu, Hajia Ayishetu Seidu, said it would help address unemployment and attract young people into the agricultural sector.

 She urged residents to take advantage of the initiative to enhance sustainable growth and development of the area.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the factory, Alhaji Sayibu Braimah, pledged to discharge their duties efficiently to ensure that the factory achieved its intended purpose.

Background

The Savelugu rice processing factory is under the government's 1D1F Common User Facility (CUF) initiative, a farmer-owned agro-industrial processing facility established with seed funding from the Ministry of Trade and Industry under the Rural Enterprises Programme.

It seeks to enhance the ability of farmers and other agricultural value chain actors, with little or no financial capacity, to establish their own common user processing facilities to process their farm produce.

Similar facilities under the initiative have been established in the Dormaa West District of the Bono Region, Sefwi Akontombra District of the Western North Region, Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region and Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region.

In the coming months, Mr Kyerematen is expected to inaugurate such facilities under the government's 1D1F initiative in other parts of the country.