Adansi Asokwa: KNUST students procure oil palm processing mill for Nyankumasu community

Residents of Nyankomasu have been blessed by some Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) (Msc Development Management) students who on March 18, 2023, gave the town a working oil palm extraction machine.

The students made this wonderful deed, using their Social Entrepreneur and Philanthropy Project (SEAP), which aimed to lessen the suffering of the women and young people in Nyankumasu and its surroundings.

Large-scale oil palm plantations are widely developed in Nyankumasu and its adjoining settlements in the Adansi Asokwa District of the Ashanti region.

The beginning of the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative resulted in the distribution of rare varieties of oil palm trees with exceptional yields to the communities. Due to a lack of nearby oil palm mills, many women and young people who began production-based businesses encountered difficulties turning their palm fruits into ready-to-sell oil.

To have their oil refined, locals had to go a long way, which cost them a lot of money and put some of them in danger.

As a result of the fighting, some young people in the areas reportedly stopped farming and turned to illicit galamsey to make ends meet.

These people' financial situation was also impacted, and several families were forced to sell their farmland because they were unable to even provide for their children's educational needs, let alone feed their family.

When the KNUST students came to their aid, the people were ecstatic because they remembered all the promises that had been made to them, notably by politicians, but had never been fulfilled.

Assemblyman Hon. Stephen Owusu thanked the students for achieving one of the community's greatest dreams.

He acknowledged that he had some reservations when they first began the procedure, but was quick to point out that the project had been realized thanks to the students' support and tenacity.

One of the students, Kamil Ibrahim, claimed that the squad was able to accomplish this by advocating on behalf of the District Assembly's Disability Fund.

The disabled in the community, who receive a significant portion of the project's profits, and the women organizations involved in oil palm cultivation are the project's two primary vulnerable populations.

He thanked the locals for their assistance and faith during these difficult times.

Madam Salamatu Alhassan, the head of Nyankumasu's disabled group on her part, gave the KNUST students her word that they would take excellent care of the equipment and maintain its durability for future generations.

The community was very complimentary of the students having indicated they have in fact never witnessed such a kindness from strangers in their lives.