CEO advocates agric to boost Ghana's 'Beyond Aid' agenda

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McHammah Engineering Company Limited (MECL), Ing. Ebenezer Hammah has admonished the government to focus on using agriculture to give Ghana a beyond aid status.

He said if countries like Malaysia and others could achieve the height by focusing on the development of the agriculture sector, then it was possible for Ghana to do same.

"We only have to identify a particular cash crop, focus on it and find ways of making us get enough benefit from it to get us to the beyond aid level. We can get there easily if we also give priority to mechanized farming.

The youth can be used in this regard by making agriculture attractive to them to achieve this," he added.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, he mentioned that Ghana had not achieved much with cocoa, adding that there are other benefits we can derive from cocoa other than chocolate and the powder, he revealed that even the nectar (the juice from the mucilage, the sticky pulp that surrounds each cocoa bean) of cocoa had ethanol, an important industrial chemical used as a solvent, in the synthesis of other organic chemicals and as an additive to automotive gasoline.

Ethanol is also the intoxicating ingredient of many alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.

Being capable of producing more ethanol locally using the nectar of cocoa, he said, could reduce the tonnes of ethanol-based products imported into the country annually while creating wealth for the nation.

He stated that cash crops, generate greater incomes than food crops since they were grown mainly for sale and not for consumption.

According to Ing. Hammah, mechanizing agriculture using our own indigenous and appropriate technology will not only create wealth but also promote food security as post-harvest lose could be reduced with best farming practices and foodstuffs could be stored appropriately for the future consumption and sale.

"I am appealing to authorities to think about this. If they really want to boost the economy, they should focus more on agriculture mechanization and also promote the growth of cash crops.

Let us use more avenues to get profit for farmers and the nation at large," he added.

Ing Hammah is the founder of MECL, an award-winning mechatronics engineering firm that fabricates hygienic agro and food processing machines and equipment for various industries. Ing. Hammah and his outfit have received recognitions both in Ghana and at the international level for their tremendous contribution towards the development of the agriculture sector in the country through the manufacturing of machines and training of individuals.

MECL is noted for manufacturing various food and agro-processing machines; design, fabricate and automate processing plants; undertake installation and servicing of plant, and offer mechanical and electrical/electronic consultancy services as well.