The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), an NGO in the Upper West Region, has called on the government and development partners to support the activities of livestock producers and dealers in the country to produce enough cattle to meet the dairy needs of the country.
The Deputy Director of CIKOD, Mr Daniel Banuoku, who made the call lamented that although livestock production was the mainstay of a growing number of people in rural Ghana, particularly in the north, it had received very limited investment and support from the various stakeholders.
“There is the need to support cattle dealers to improve on the quality of livestock production in the country and also ensure that they benefit substantially from their vocation,” he said.
The Deputy Director said this on Friday, at a ceremony to cut sod for the construction of a modern livestock market with auxiliary facilities at Bole and Banda Nkwanta in the Savanna Region under a project dubbed “PAMOBARMA”.
The Project PAMOBARMA, funded by the European Commission and Agence Francaise de Development and implemented by CIKOD and its partner NGO, Acting for Life, aims at supporting livestock mobility for better access to resources and markets in Ghana and West Africa in general.
Mr Banuoku said the construction of the livestock markets was a major step to developing the livestock sector, create jobs and generate revenue for the beneficiary district assemblies.
“The establishment of these facilities will go a long way to help butchers in their daily activities because with the livestock markets, animals would be slaughtered, stored, well-packaged and transported in appropriate vehicles to the various markets,” he said.
He urged the contractors and consultants in charge of the project to discharge their duties diligently and efficiently to meet the duration for implementation of the projects.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Bole, Madam Veronica Alele Heming, expressed gratitude to CIKOD and its donor partners for the intervention and advised those who would manage the facility when completed, to ensure it was kept in good condition.
She urged the contractors to engage the services of local artisans to help create jobs for them and also advised the community to provide the necessary support for the smooth execution of works.
The event which was well attended by traditional rulers also saw the signing of the contract by the DCE and the project implementers.
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK, BOLE
