Bazua farmers get grain storage facility(D/G, Thursday, January 3, 2013)

A former Upper East Regional Best farmer, Mr. Martin Ariku has advised the youth in the region to embrace agriculture and dedicate their time and energies to it, if the battle against poverty is to be won. According to the 2012 Regional Best farmer, the region posses a lot of potential and with the right attitude and the needed support, the youth can reap the desired benefit and curb the rising cases of unemployment and migration to the southern parts of the country in search of non-existent jobs. Mr. Ariku gave the advice at the inauguration and handing over of an 80 metric tome warehouse for the storage of grains and other farm produce for sale later by farmers at prices that will help them make profit. The facility is also to curb the difficult challenges of post harvest losses farmers has to endure. The warehouse facility is part of the Ghana Arzakinmu Programme designed to increase smallholder participation in certified warehouses by expanding the provision and use of improvised aggregation, post –harvest handling and storage services in the Volta, Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions. The programme is funded by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa and is being implemented by the Agribusiness Systems International in partnership with the Ghana Grains Council. The project has trained a total of 12, 327 small holder farmers comprising 7, 996 men and 4,331 women within the project implementation area in best practices in post –harvest handling and storage of grains and have also been introduced to the basics of the warehouse receipt system, which is being piloted by Ghana Grains Council. In all 18 community storage warehouses of 80 metric tons capacity have been provided for progressive farmer based organizations, nucleus farmers and community aggregators within the implementation area to improve grain storage and also ensure access to higher value markets and timely financing through the warehouse receipt system. The programme is also collaborating with partners to improve market linkages between smallholder farmers and profitable markets. Speaking at the handing over of one of the community storage warehouses at Bazua, Mr. Ariku who is also the 2008 Bawku Municipal Best Farmer, said from an initial stage of a small holder farmer with just 2 acres of land, he has matured into a farmer who can now assist others to produce to feed themselves and the nation as a whole and expressed appreciation to the Ghana Arzakinmu Programme, the Agriculture Development Value Chain Enhancement(ADVANCE) Programme, Agribusiness Systems International and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. He said apart from the storage facility, the project has also aided him and his colleagues in developing a management model to help them maintain the warehouse adding that the warehouse receipt system introduced by the Ghana Grains Council will now help farmers grow and really make faring a business. While calling on the youth in the region to embrace agriculture a vehicle to escape from the excruciating pain of poverty, he also appealed to the government to initiate policies that will make the venture more viable. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grains Council, Dr. Alfa Kadri advice managers of the facility to adhere to standard practices and accepted protocols on how to receive grains, processing and proper storage methods as well as efficient documentation processes among others in order to derive the desired benefits. He also encourages the farmers to embrace the warehouse receipt system. He disclosed that the Ghana Grains Council has been able to issues the first warehouse receipt the first of its kind not only in here in Ghana but West Africa and second in Africa. “What it means it that farmers will be able to use those warehouse receipts as collaterals for example to source funds from financial institutions and inputs dealers to support their businesses”, he explained. Mr. Hlupeki Phiri, of the Ghana Arzakinmu Project said it is important for the farmers to uphold and enforce appropriate management systems that will generate enough resources for the maintenance and upkeep of the facility.