$8m rice improvement project ends in C/R
The $8 million Rice Value Chain (RVC) Improvement Project (RVCIP) undertaken in the Central Region to boost rice production and distribution in the country has ended.
Implemented in Gomoa East, Assin Central, Assin North, Assin South and Twifo Atti-Morkwa, the project was geared towards improving the capacity of smallholder rice farmers in the region.
The four-year bilateral project was funded by the Korean government through the Korean International Cooperation (KOICA) and Dankook Institute for International Cooperation (DICA).
Speaking at a ceremony to bring the project to a close in Accra yesterday, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Kyongsig Park, urged the government of Ghana to own the project in order to ensure continuity.
He said the successes chalked under the project over the last five years were an indication that the Central Region had the capacity to become one of the leading rice producers in the country with more support from the government.
Mr Park said the Korean Embassy would take keen interest and follow up on progress of the beneficiary districts to ensure that the investments did not go down the drain.
On his part, the Project Manager, Dr Chung Haegon, highlighted that the results of the project was more than impressive as all the beneficiary districts more than doubled their production.
He indicated that the climate and soil conditions in the region made it suitable for rice production and the addition of improved technology, and seeds had actually increased the productivity of the farmers.
Dr Haegon further noted that with the project successfully ending, the farmers could now put into use the improvement in their capacity to produce more for the Ghanaian market.
As part of the project, the beneficiaries were presented with a number of agricultural equipment and machinery including two tractors and accessories, a combine harvester, laser land leveller, seed drill/ no-till seed planter, 18 power tillers and accessories, two transplanters and 10 rice threshers.
The rest were 10 rice reaper binder combine harvesters, 18 rice winnowers, 30 water pumps, 18 grain moisture meters and 16 knapsack sprayers/ motorised mist blowers.
Also a total of 8MT of certified seeds were distributed with beneficiary farmers getting 15.5kg of seeds at no cost of their own
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
