SADA Launches GH¢2.7m Dry Season Farming Project At Yapei

The Savanna Accelerated Development Authourity (SADA) is investing GH¢2.7 Million into a dry season vegetable farming project at Yapei in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region of Ghana for export into the European market.  

The project, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Northern Rural Growth Project (NRGP) among others with funding from SADA, would engage hundreds of kayayei returnees and other potential kayayeis who will work on a 250 acre farm as labourers.

CEO, SADA

Speaking at the launch of the project Yapei, Chief Executive Officer of SADA Alhaji Gilbert Seidu Iddi, said it was intended to make good use of the seven-month long dry season period so that the young men and women who formed a greater percentage of smallholder farmers in that part of the country, could make some better income for themselves.

The first to be cultivated, butternut squash –is one of several types of vegetables on high demand in the European market, says Nyamekye Boamah, an Agronomist with Plusone Investment Limited, a private service provider to the project.

Mr. Boamah explained that the choice of Yapei, one of many locations in Northern Ghana where similar projects were ongoing, was due to the good climatic conditions prevailing there and the areas proximity to the White Volta River which will serve as a source of irrigating the commercial farm. 

Aside butternut squash, other crops that would be planted include watermelon, seedless melon, cabbage, lettuce, sweet potato and among others. 

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authourity is a government policy initiative aimed at addressing the development gap that exists between Northern and Southern Ghana. SADA’s mandate is to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Savannah belt through strategic investment in resource development. It envisions a “Forested North” by 2030 where agricultural production is modernised and oriented towards a larger market. 

The SADA initiative has six unique pillars which include the following: development of a comprehensive regional and ecological strategy; a model for the modernisation of agriculture; development of strategic infrastructure; strong linkage between Northern Savannah and the Sahelian countries; a vigorous private sector initiative that strengthens existing private operators; and active support for Civil Society Organizations and NGOs.