Accra, May 26, GNA - The Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment (MMDE) in collaboration with the Centre for Biodiversity Utilization and Development (CBUD) has trained about 3,000 snail farmers and more than 4,000 people to do grasscutter farming. Consequently, UTB Service Ghana Limited, an Accra-based food packaging Company, is planning to go into the packaging of snails and cashew nuts for export.
Mr Yaw Barimah, Minister for Manpower Development and Employment, said this in a speech read for him by his special assistant, Mr Emmanuel Bartey, at a graduation ceremony for 250 students in food processing and packaging under Government Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) programme at Sakumono, near Accra.
The three-month intensive training, organised by UTB Services Ghana Limited was sponsored by the MMDE to equip the participants with knowledge in processing and packaging of food items for export. Mr Barima assured snail and grasscutter farmers of government's continued support to enable them expand their capacities. The Minister also called on the management of UTB Services to encourage the trainees to form co-operatives to enable those with marketing flair promote their own products.
Mrs Joyce Tawiah Bonney, Managing Director of UTB, whose speech was also read for her, said the objective of the training was to let the participants understand the application of correct food processing and packaging standards and procedures.
She said the Company would sell semi-processed materials to the co-operatives for actual processing and packing after which UTB would buy back the finished product.
Mrs Bonney commended the MMDE for its immense support for the programme, adding that the training would help solve some of the unemployment problems in the country.