Govt, farmers fix cassava price for Ayensu Factory

Bawjiase(C/R), Sept. 9, GNA - Government and cassava-growing farmers= in Bawjiase on Thursday agreed on GH¢65 as fixed price for the purchase of o= ne tonne of the root tuber for the revamped Ayensu Starch Company Limited (ASCL).

This was after several hours of negotiations between some officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), which acted on behalf of government, and representatives of General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) and Cassava Farmers Out-growing Association (CFOA).

The ASCL, a cassava starch processing company, was commissioned in February 2004 under the President's Special Initiatives (PSI) but was clo= sed down in 2006 mainly due to unavailability of raw materials to feed the factory. Speaking at a press briefing to announce the agreed price in Bawjiase in the Central Region, Mr John Adasi, Director of Small and Micro Enterprises and Technical at the MOTI, pledged that other necessary farm accessories and safety equipments and materials such as Wellington boots would be provided for the farmers. He said though the factory had 1,000 acres of cassava farm land, it wa= s insufficient to meet the factory demand hence the need to rely on other sources for raw material supply.

Mr Adasi expressed the hope that the farmers would honour their commitment to continuously supply the factory with the needed cassava. Mr Samuel Dodd, President of CFOA, appealed to government to provide the farmers with tractors to facilitate effective and efficient commercial production of cassava.

Mrs Emelia Ghansa, Head of Rural Workers Organisation of GAWU, expressed the hope that the terms of negotiations, though ongoing and subject for upward adjustment, would motivate the farmers to contribute towards sustaining the revamped starch factory. Mr Sampson Armah, Project Coordinator of ASCL, told journalists that the factory depended on four sources of raw materials. These include the factory's own farm, co-operative farmers, out-grow= ers and large-scale cassava producers.

Mr Armah said the company produced 72 metric tonnes of starch during the trial period in August this year, adding, management was expecting to hit 2,200 metric tonnes per annum. He described the market for starch as very lucrative adding, 66 companies had already placed order for the produce.