Harmonize utilisation of land for investment in agriculture

Tamale, May 27, GNA - Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister, has urged the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to collaborate with stakeholders in land administration to harmonise the utilisation of land for both foreign and local investors. He said prominent area for investment in the Northern Region was in the agriculture sector that which requires the utilisation of large tracts of land. He therefore urged the GIPC to work closely with the Regional House of Chiefs and landowners or "Tindanas" to facilitate the acquisition of land.

Mr. Nayina was addressing a one-day forum on: "Regional investment outreach", organised by the GIPC in Tamale on Tuesday. The forum was on the theme: "Investment promotion and Ghana's development in the new economic world". Mr. Nayina said if the agriculture sector in the region was developed and expanded it would open up other smaller opportunities for investment and the development of the area while providing jobs for the people. He said the region was endowed with untapped resources and appealed to the business community to collaborate with the GIPC and all relevant stakeholders to help exploit the opportunities and potentials to the optimum.

Mr. Augustine Acheampong Otoo, Director of Global and Regional Operations of the GIPC, called on the district assemblies to develop land banks and also team up with the GIPC to identify and develop local businesses.

He said there were several bottlenecks hindering investment in the region, mentioning poor road network, poor infrastructure, distance of the region from the ports, inadequate business set-ups and the lack of partnership to encourage investment flows as some of them. 27 May 09