The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday paid an inspection visit to the 520-acre multi-grain processing estate, HGL Volta Trigger 1 Project, at Tsrefe in the Adaklu District.
This was at the start of his two-day duty tour of the Volta Region.
President Akufo-Addo was accompanied by the Minister of Trade, Mr Alan Kyerematen and a team of other ministers and deputy ministers of state as well as Municipal, District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the region.
The general manager of the company, Mr Cyril Klutsey who conducted the President and his team round the factory said that the project was an indigenous Ghanaian agro-business undertaking.
He said that the factory was committed to processing rice and maize for the Ghanaian market, adding that it had now engaged the services of some 300 people, including administrative staff and farm hands.
According to him, the project was poised to produce 20,000 metric tonnes of rice and a similar quantity of maize for the Ghanaian market annually.
Apart from the agro-cultivation and agro-processing activities on the demonstration farm, Mr Klutsey said that agro-tourism was also high on the agenda of the project, which took off in 2017.
Meanwhile, he said, a 30-million ground reservoir has been constructed on the estate and an additional 70-million gallon ground reservoir would be built next year.
Lodging facilities would be added to the project in due course, the general manager added.
Mr Klutsey appealed to the government to support the project to pursue its vision to become a model Ghanaian social business to inspire socio-economic change to impact lives.
In response, Mr Kyeremanten commended the operators of the project for their brilliant efforts to add value to locally produced rice and maize, saying that would definitely help to expand the economy.
“This is a perfect example of the One-District-One-Factory”, he added.
Mr Kyerematen explained that the visit to the project site by the President was to enable him to inspect the silos, processing plants and other facilities.
He said that President Akufo-Addo would return to Tsrefe on a later date to commission the HGL Volta Trigger 1 Project, for which reason he did not make a formal speech during the visit.
The President later addressed a durbar of chiefs at Akatsi.
Pix: 1.HGL Volta 1 Trigger project
2. Nana Akufo Addo (middle) and his entourage being conducted round the facilities by a director of the company (right)
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, ADAKLU-TSREFE
