Kenyasi (A/R)-Ghana, Dec. 13, GNA – The Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council and the Asutifi North District Assembly have commended Newmont Africa’s Ahafo Mine for the company’s immeasurable contribution to the stability and growth of agriculture and food productivity.
In that regard, Mr Geroge Yaw Boakye, the Ahafo Regional Minister presented a citation to the mining company during the region’s celebration of the 38th National Farmers’ Day held at Gyedu, a mining town in the Asutifi North District of the region.
A statement issued by the multi-national mining company and signed by Mr Kofi Annin, the General Manager of the Ahafo Mine said the Ahafo Mine had been deliberate with its social and economic interventions, and “have sought to provide considerable support to agriculture, being mindful of the agrarian nature of the communities that host the Mine.
“As has become the practice, the Ahafo Mine supported all the five Municipal and District Assemblies (MDA’s) close to its operations, which are, the Asutifi North and South Districts, the Tano North Municipality, and the Asunafo North Municipality and Asunafo South District, with items and cash valued at GHC337,730.00.
“What we have sought to do is to ensure that our core business of mining co-exists meaningfully with agriculture so that, together, we provide a range of opportunities that improve the lot of our people,” it stated.
The statement added that with the limited employment opportunities within the mine, agriculture remains an important and sustainable income earning option for community youth, and the mine is ready to support.
“The 2022 overall Best Farmer for the Asutifi North District, Halid Amidu Yakubu, is a beneficiary of Ahafo Mine’s Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme (AILAP), and a contractor to the Mine”, it stated.
AILAP is a livelihood re-establishment programme that was designed to help increase agricultural productivity, improve crop diversity and market access, and ultimately improve food security in the Mine’s host communities.
Mr Yakubu, who started farming in 2009 through AILAP, now has 65 acres of cocoa, 15 acres of plantain, 7 acres of orange, 4 acres of coconut and cocoyam, 10 acres of maize, and 10 acres of oil palm. This is in addition to livestock such as cattle, poultry, rabbits, and goats among others.
“Halid Amidu Yakubu’s achievement is proof that, with the right interventions and stakeholder collaborations, other people and sectors of our local economy can benefit significantly from the presence of our Mine even if not directly as employees,” it indicated.
The statement further reiterated the need to add value to agricultural products, as a means of increasing income and preventing post-harvest losses.
“Newmont Africa is actively working with partners and stakeholders to re-vamp the Asutifi Processing and Service Centre to help process farm inputs such as chili pepper and ginger for local production and export”.
Currently, more than 500 local farmers have been engaged to produce pepper and ginger for the Centre through an out-grower scheme.
