All is set for the establishment of a US$2.2million pepper processing factory under the auspices of the ‘1D1F’ initiative at Tuobodom, the district capital of Techiman North in the Brong Ahafo Region.

To that effect, the Techiman North District Assembly has allocated a ten-acre parcel of land to host the agro-processing factory. The enterprise will be constructed and managed by NAFAAKA Enterprise, a wholly-owned Ghana firm.

In an interview with Business & Financial Times, Eric Kwaku Fakah Boahen-CEO of NAFAAKA Enterprise, said the factory when completed will process chilli pepper into powder, paste and other value-added forms – mainly for the international markets.

He said: “All the necessary paper and groundwork has been completed and we are only waiting for the release of funds by GCB bank, our financier. I’m reliably informed that GCB’s Board of Directors will be meeting in about a week’s time to give final approval for our request, after which the money will be released to us”.

Besides the supply from pepper farmers in the Techiman catchment area, the company is also in the process of securing about 1,200-acres of farmland for cultivating pepper to supplement stock from out-grower farmers. This is to ensure uninterrupted supply of raw material to feed the plant, Mr. Boahen stated.

The Entrepreneur, who is also a Chartered Accountant, said the factory will at its initial stage provide direct jobs to over one hundred people, while indirect jobs will also be created for thousands along the value-chain spectrum.

“The factory will engage people with varied professional and academic backgrounds to occupy various positions. For instance, we will hire the services of technicians, supervisors, accounts clerks, administrators, drivers and a host of others.”