Tumu, Feb. 27, GNA - Ghana has the potential to produce 250,000 metric tons of lint cotton in the medium term, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture has said. He said such tonnage would require the involvement of about 500,000 farmers in cotton cultivation across the three northern regions.

Mr Ahwoi said with the current world market prices averaging US$2,500 per metric tons, the three northern regions could have earned an income of US$625 million for Ghana during the 2010 crop season.

Mr Ahwoi was addressing a durbar of cotton farmers' at Tumu to launch the cotton 93White Gold" campaign in the North West Zone of the Upper West Region on Saturday. He said the target for this year was to get 100,000 farmers in cotton production to benefit from the impressive world market price of lint cotton.

Government has therefore embarked on a cotton sector

revival programme and had zoned the cotton belt into three and

assigned to three companies for the production of the crop. The North-Eastern Zone has been allocated to Wienco

Ghana Limited in partnership with Geo-Cotton, French

Company. It covers Kasina-Nankana, Tongo/Nabdam, Bawku

West, Bawku Municipality, Garu-Tempani, Bongo, Builsa,

West Mamprusi, East Mamprusi, Buunkpurugu, Gushiegu,

Saboba, Chereponi and Zubzugu. Olam Ghana Limited has also been allocated the North-

Western Zone, covering Sissala East, Sissala West, Jirapa,

Lambussie/Karni, Lawra, Nadowli, Wa East and Wa West

Districts and Wa Municipality. Plexus in partnership with Amajaro Ghana Limited was

allocated to the North-Central Zone, which comprised

Savelugu, Tolon/Kumbungu, Bimbilla, Wullensi, Salaga, Bole,

Damongo, Buipe, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba and Kpandai districts as

well as Yendi Municipality and Tamale Metropolis. Mr Ahwoi said the Ghana Cotton Company Limited would

no longer be involved in the production of seed cotton, rather

the company and other private ginneries previously involved in

cotton production, would now concentrate on ginning cotton

supplied to them by the three companies under tolling

arrangements. He said government would not permit the establishment of

new ginneries until the maximum utilization of the present

national installed ginning capacity of close to 90,000 metric

tons of lint cotton was met. The Sector Minister announced that the World Bank and

other partners were ready and willing to fund programmes for

the building of strong farmer-organisations across the cotton

zones for effective dealings with the private companies

operating in the zones. Government had also sought for international cooperation

and support from UNIDO and the Cotton Institute of Egypt to

partner the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute and

Ministry of Food and Agriculture to improve seed varieties and

agronomics. The World Bank would also fund the establishment of

Cotton Secretariat with experts to help in the revival effort

while rural infrastructure, including the rehabilitation of roads in

cotton zones would be developed to support the cotton

sector. Mr Ahwoi said government would soon convene a meeting

of a Cotton Price Fixing Committee composed of private

companies, development partners and leadership of the

farmers' organisation to begin negotiations towards the

determination of the minimum price of seed cotton in the

coming season. He assured private companies of government's

determination to support them and take all appropriate steps to

protect the interest of the companies and that of the farmers

for the mutual benefit of the two bodies. He appealed to the companies to strictly adhered to

government's policy measures and make cotton the 93gold" of

the North, saying: 93We must cultivate cotton to enrich

ourselves and develop our communities". Mr Ahwoi challenged the various district and municipal

assemblies, regional and district directors of agriculture and the

agricultural extension agents to take advantage of the

opportunity abound in cotton and take ownership of the

campaign, work together in partnership and encourage farmers

to grow the crop.