A modern livestock market to boost livestock trade and development was on Wednesday inaugurated at Wa, the Upper West Regional capital.
The facility, constructed at the cost of GH₵413,605.12 by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), an NGO, consists of a fenced wall, administration block, veterinary post, revenue office, loading ramp and washrooms.
The Project was funded by the European Union (EU) and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), and facilitated by Acting for Life (AFL) and CIKOD under the Project Title: Project to Support Livestock Mobility for Better Access to Resources and Markets in West Africa (PAMOBARMA).
The PAMOBARMA project is aimed at supporting livestock mobility for better access to resources and markets in the country and West Africa to promote peaceful co-existence between herders and farmers.
The Deputy Director for CIKOD, Mr Daniel Banuoku, speaking at the ceremony said the market would serve as a place for raising livestock with regular supply of fodder and water to curtail challenges that came with nomadism and also serve as trading grounds for livestock and their products.
He was confident that the facility would help provide jobs for the residents, especially the youth, and enhance income generation of the municipal assembly for the development of the area.
Mr Banuoku encouraged the assembly and the management of the livestock committee to properly maintain the place to ensure that the market lasted longer to serve its intended purpose.
The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture in charge of livestock, Mr Hardi Tuferu, who inaugurated the facility, said the Ministry was seeking partnership, especially with the private sector to develop the livestock sector in the country.
The construction of the Wa livestock market, he noted, was a major step in developing the livestock sector in the region, and called for more of such interventions across the northern part of the country to prevent challenges with nomadism and also enhance job creation.
“Livestock farming is one area that must be given the needed attention; I will therefore appeal to all stakeholders to pay close attention to this facility to help maintain good sanitation in and around it,” he stressed.
The Chairman for the Wa Livestock Committee, Mr Abubakar Ibn Saeed, expressed gratitude to CIKOD and its donor partners for the initiative, and pledged the commitment of members to maintaining the facility.
In attendance were some members of the Waala Traditional Council, officials from the municipal assembly, officers from the regional agricultural office, members of the Wa livestock market committee, media, among others.
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK, WA
