Farmers and players along the agricultural value chain in Tamale, in the Northern region are set to boost their incomes and livelihoods, thanks to the latest agricultural technology and innovation from the Torchbearer International Agricultural Science and Technology (TIAST) Group and partner Stanbic Bank.
TIAST Group last Wednesday engaged farmers in Tamale on the offerings of its recent collaboration with Stanbic Bank Ghana.
Managers of TIAST assured farmers and other players in the agricultural value chain that “we are poised to fund the equipment, technology and provide off-take trading locally to help Ghanaians get more value from agricultural produce such as cassava, rubber, tomatoes, corn and rice through processing, with the requisite financial support from Stanbic Bank.”
The theme for the one-day interaction was ‘Financial and technological boost for the agricultural industry in Ghana.’
The Tamale engagement comes on the back of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Accra in September between TIAST and Stanbic Bank to support the production and processing of cassava and its derivatives.
Describing the collaboration as a game changer, Chairperson of TIAST West Africa, Madam Lisa Hao said her outfit and Stanbic Bank were setting up a sustainable mechanism for cassava industrialisation processing, saying “Stanbic Bank will provide financial support to their qualified clients while TIAST will build the processing lines.”
TIAST would provide the requisite technology to afford the client produce cassava starch, off-take the client’s cassava starch and pay back the client as well as the financier-Stanbic Bank.
“We off-take immediately you produce the required quantity, whether on weekly , monthly or yearly basis; we provide the packaging material for the processed goods for the processor and we arrange for shipment, to transport the products from the factory,” TIAST’s Chairperson explained.
Under the arrangement, crops will undergo processing via technology from cassava (into flour, ethanol, syrup and chips),tomato (into paste, juice),Maize (into flour, oil, syrup and flakes), yam (into chips, starch flour).
Chief Operating Manager at TIAST, Mr Feca Xiao announced the establishment of the Group’s headquarters in Dawa, Tema, which facility he noted would include a research design and manufacturing centre, international conference centre, warehouse and business centre.
Welcoming the TIAST, Stanbic team, the overlord of the Dagbon State,Ya-Na Abukari II during his investiture promised to mobilise the people of Dagbon as part of his development agenda to collaborate with other stakeholders and partners to increase access to farm inputs and services to smallholder farmers and to support in the development of commercial agriculture in Dagbon.
BY TIMES REPORTER
