Newage Agric solutions, a private agric company, has supported over 5,000 farmers nationwide through its out-grower project called Chi-Gaba.
The Chi-Gaba Project is an initiative of Newage Agric to boost local production of some important crops through partnerships with some Production and Commodities partners (PCPs) who serve as value-chain drivers.
Speaking after field monitoring in the Sissala area of the Upper West Region, the Project Coordinator, Mr. Asare Bediako, indicated that, “the Chi-Gaba Project is focusing on three (3) main crops; maize, soya and rice, based on its economic importance to the country. And what the project does is to offer complete package of inputs (seeds, weedicides, post-emergent herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers) to our farmers at a zero initial cost on the side of the farmer. Farmers will only pay for the inputs at the end of the season when they harvest their crops”.
“It is refreshing to mention that we have successfully supported up to 6,000 acres of maize, 3,000 acres of soya and 250 acres of rice in the major season, and this is being cultivated by about 5,200 farmers scattered across four regions of Ghana, namely Upper West, Northern, North-East and the Volta Region”.
He further emphasized that, “with the sort of quality inputs that have been distributed to farmers coupled with the technical and agronomic support services we offer to our farmers, we are anticipating an excellent harvest”.
One of the beneficiary farmers in Sissala West, Mr. Nashiru Kanwei, said the support brought by has been a huge relief.
“Access to inputs this year has been a big challenge especially with fertilizers. That is why the inputs we are receiving from the Chi-Gaba project has been our saviour this year. We don’t know how we would have been able to farm this year. I can tell you that there are farmers in this village who are still running around to buy inputs but those of us lucky to be part of this project received our inputs at our doorsteps in our communities at no initial cost. And we are so grateful to Newage”.
Mr. Asare Bediako urged the farmers to be diligent with their work and endeavor to make a good recovery at the end of the season because this project is only the first of greater things to come.
The project at the end of the season is anticipating at least about 12,000 MT of grains under the maize project, which is about 240,000 bags (50 Kg) of maize to feed the Ghanaian people.
The Soya project is also expected to produce about 2,400 MT of soyabeans amounting to about 48,000 bags of (50 Kg) for the poultry industry.
