The drudgery in manual processing of groundnuts and the challenges in marketing has become a thing of the past for members of the Ayorya Women Groundnut Farmers Association in the Bono East Region. This follows the inauguration of a Groundnut processing facility at Ayorya to serve surrounding communities.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Resident Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Silke Hollander, said the inauguration of the processing plant is evidence of what women can achieve with the necessary support.
The Ayorya area of the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region is noted for the cultivation of groundnuts. It serves as a source of livelihood for many women in the area as evidenced by the formation of the Ayorya Women Groundnut Farmers Association. Hannah Afriyie is the leader of the Association, which was established to help improve the lot of women.
She told GBCNEWS cultivating and selling groundnuts in the raw form proved extremely challenging with buyers cheating them. The provision of the processing facility, She noted will help eliminate the drudgery involved in processing and make prospects for increased revenues brighter
The new Ayorya Groundnut Paste and Oil Processing Factory was sponsored by the UNDP under its Global Environment Facility. It will be managed by the Ayorya Women Groundnut Farmers Association on behalf of Ayorya and surrounding communities. The facility which will be manned by six staff is equipped with a milling machine, oil extractors and a shelling machine among others.
The inauguration ceremony for the facility had in attendance the locals and Chiefs of Ayorya and adjoining Communities as well as Officials of the UNDP and the Bono East Regional Coordinating Council.
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Country Director of UNDP Ghana, Silke Hollander, expressed happiness over the successes chalked by the Women of Ayorya since their application for support was one of the first she handled on arrival in Ghana. She noted the intervention will benefit not only the women but the entire community.
The Kintampo South District Director of Agriculture, Efia Asokua Yeboah, lauded the support for the woman and called for more support other women's groups in other sectors. The Executive Secretary to the Bono East Regional Minister, Isaac Sarpong, who deputized for his Boss, praised the Women and UNDP for the processing center, saying it is in line with Government's industrialization drive under 1D1F.
A representative of the Farmers Organization Network of Ghana, Madam Gladys Adusah, facilitated the application for support by the Ayorya Women Groundnut Farmers, revealed that apart from the factory, the women have been trained in Organic production of Groundnuts, introduced to Village Savings Schemes, and improved traditional stoves.
She consequently expressed the hope that with hardwork, the future is promising for the Ayorya Women Groundnut Farmers.
GBCs John Sam Arthur
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