[ 2012-07-08 ]

Youth Engaged In SADA Zone To Plant Five Million Seedlings
More than 5000 youth in the Savannah Accelerated
Development Authority (SADA) Ecological Zone of
Ghana have been engaged to plant five million
seedlings of assorted trees within the SADA zone.

The programme forms part of SADA’s Reforestation
and Restoration Initiative aimed at empowering the
populace in the zone to contribute meaningfully to
the socio-economic development of the communities
and eventually reduce the level of poverty in the
area.

The project is a collaborative effort between
SADA, and ACI Construction Company, a subsidiary
of the AGAMS Group of Companies. It will be
operated as a Public-Private Partnership over a
five-year period.

Launching the project at Vea in the Bongo District
of the Upper East Region Friday, the Vice
President, Mr. John Mahama said within the short
span of when SADA’s Board was sworn in and the
appointment of a Chief Executive Officer, SADA had
been involved in rolling out a number of
programmes which were being implemented to bridge
the development gap between the north and the
southern parts of Ghana.

He said the SADA Act enjoined the carrying out of
two critical things, the putting in place of a
long term vision and blue print for the Savannah
Zone.

“The Board and Management have not only done that
but gone beyond and produce a five year business
plan which is currently in implementation”, he
said.

According to the Vice President, an investment
fund had also been set up for SADA to which the
government has provided GH˘ 200 million as seed
money for SADA.

He said a number of projects had already been
started for the people to begin to see the impact
of the programme.

Last year, he said, 6,000 farmers benefited from
the agriculture inputs programmes embarked on by
SADA.

The farmers, he indicated, where given
fertilisers, improved seeds, extension services to
produce rice, maize soya beans and some cases
mangoes.

Mr Mahama said those farmers were required to pay
for the inputs only after harvesting.

‘It was very successful and led to an increase in
production and a rise incomes for these families”
he said adding that following the success of the
programmes, SADA scaled up the programme and
increased the beneficiaries to 10,000.

The Vice President said almost 30,000 bags of
fertilisers had been distributed under the
programme while tractor services had been added to
provide free ploughing services to farmers.

The Vice President said, aside this, SADA has a
facilitating role for the private sector and as
such so many private sector companies have
contacted SADA to add value to products from the
north.

He disclosed that between July and August this
year, two new processing plants were to to
commissioned at Nyankpala and at the old GIHOC
Vegetable Mills to process rice and produced
groundnut oil for the local market and for
export.

Mr Mahama annoounced that steps were being taken
to bring on board the Nasia Rice Mills and also
improve the Cotton Production in the north all
with the aimed of improving lives of the people.

Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, the Chairman of the
National Development Planning Commission (NDPC),
said there existed potential in the SADA
ecological zone which must be unlocked to benefit
the people .

He said it was as a result of that that the
government was committed to the implementation of
the SADA programmes.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo
urged the youth from the northern ecological zone
who migrate to the south in search of non-existent
jobs to take advantage and be part of the
initiative.

The Chief Executive of SADA, Alhaji Gilbert Iddi,
said persons who had always harboured skepticism
about the ability of SADA to deliver could now
find themselves on the wrong side.

Source - Daily Graphic

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