Avnash Introduces Parboiled Rice Into Ghanaian Market

Ghana’s leading agricultural produce manufacturing company, Avnash Industries Limited, has introduced its first brand of locally produced jasmine long grain fragrant parboiled rice into the market.

‘Royal Farmers Rice’ as it is called was introduced into the Ghanaian market last December, giving hope to thousands of local farmers who have not had direct access to a commercial rice miller since the closing down of state-owned Nasia Rice Processing Plant in Tamale almost a decade ago.

Royal Farmers Rice is by all standards, a superior brand compared to the thousands of tonnes of American and Asian rice imported into the country annually. It is nutritious and good for the health of consumers because it is not polished rice.

The Head of Avnash Industries Limited in charge of the Northern Region, Akshay Sharma in an interview with Savannahnews, said “the company is set to produce 500 tonnes of rice per day”, an indirect call to rice farmers to expand cultivation of rice in the next farming season.

Rice is the most consumed staple food in Ghana now. About 90 percent of families depend mainly on rice for their daily meal. In recent years, the consumption of the staple has increased tremendously to an estimated 600,000 tonnes annually.

But local production is still not able to meet consumption demand often leading to a yearly importation of rice worth over 500 million dollars. This has put a huge strain on the national economy and limit government’s ability to save money for other needs such as health, education and infrastructural development.

In most parts of Ghana, rice farming is largely done in small scale; an average of 2 to 5 acres per a household. This can be attributed to a number of factors including inadequate cultivable land and among others.

As a result, this slows down Ghana’s quest to increase rice production from the 20,000 tonnes per year to its new target of 200,000 tons per year. This also, further compounds the vicious cycle of poverty and food insecurity among Ghanaian farmers and their families.

Mr. Sharma said due to the low level of required rice produced by farmers in the Northern Region, the company is currently targeting only the Ghanaian market with its product which ranges from 50kilogram bags to 1kilogram bags.

Mr. Akshay Sharma

Despite having about 8 to 10 trucks delivering raw materials to its Rice Processing Plant located at Changnayili in the Sagnarigu District in the Northern Region, Mr. Sharma said that was still not enough to meet their targets.

He appealed to government to develop more irrigation schemes across the region that would enable farmers to boost the cultivation of rice to feed industries and local consumption.

“Because of inadequate raw materials, cost of production is often high and this affects pricing. If there are more raw materials cost of production will come down and that also means that rice produced locally would be very affordable for everyone to buy for consumption”, he explained.

Mr. Sharma also encouraged Ghanaians to consume more of made in Ghana products including parboiled rice produced by Avnash which is healthier and nutritious compared to imported polished rice. “Agriculture is the backbone of every nation and so when there’s significant investment in this sector, there’s bound to be improvement in cash flow. 

Avnash Industries Limited was established in 2001; the name deriving from ‘Avinash', Sanskrit for “indestructible.” The removal of the “i” to form Avnash signifies a selfless service to Ghana, the company’s corporate website says.

The company also operates a 500 metric tonnes per day edible oil refinery that converts crude palm oil into various fractions, principal of which is vegetable cooking oil called Golden Drop. With vitamins to address deficiencies and a golden colour to match Ghana’s colonial name, Gold Coast, Golden Drop is truly the “mind, body, and soul of Ghana.”

Oly laundry Soap is another product it manufactures from its 100 metric tonnes per day soap plant, using by-products from the oil separation process. The company combines local, herbal extracts with natural oils to make bathing and washing a rich experience for all. The brand currently boasts variants in the laundry and pure body categories.

The company has also leased 30 acres of land at Buipe in the Central Gonja District to set up a 300 metric tonnes per-day groundnut oil processing plant. Additionally, it has acquired and upgraded three defunct factories: Bosbell Oil Processing Factory and Blue Mont Shea Butter Processing Factor.

Assemblyman for Bawku West Faces 5 Years Imprisonment If........

Patrick Ayaba

The Tamale High Court has sentenced the Assembly member for Teshei Electoral Area in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, Patrick Ayaba, with a fine of five thousand penalty units.

The Court, Presided over by His Lordship Justice Daniel Kwaku Obeng in his statement said, in default Mr. Ayaba would serve 5 years imprisonment in hard labour.

The complainant, Abdulai Sita, reported Mr. Ayaba who is the accused to the police in Bole on December 11, 2016 for stealing and selling his sand (gold by-product) at a small scale mining site at Wasepe in the Bole District worth GH¢400,000.00.

The case, which was initially sent to the Bole District Court, was later transferred to the Tamale Circuit Court.

According to documents sighted by Savannahnews, the case was referred to the Attorney General’s Department which adviced that Mr. Ayaba is charged with stealing and arraigned before the Tamale Circuit Court.

The case was called at the Tamale Circuit Court on March 8, 2016 and the accused was granted bail in the sum of GH¢300,000.00 with one surety.

Counsel for the accused, Mr. John Ndebugri, represented him throughout the court proceedings until September 7, 2016 when judgement was given against him based on the fact that he failed to open his defence.

The Prosecutor, ASP Seidu Wemah, told Daily Guide in a publication dated Tuesday September 13, 2016, that the counsel for the accused asked him not to open his defence because the court rejected his submission for no case.

According to him, they were satisfied with the verdict since justice had been served the complainant.    

A Mining Site Somewhere in Ghana 

His Honour William Appiah Twumasi of the Tamale Circuit Court who presided over the case said in his ruling: “I therefore find the accused guilty of stealing the over (another name for gold by-product). Accused is sentenced to a fine of three hundred penalty units or in default 2 years in hard labour. Accused should refund the money realised from the sale of the over to the complainant....”.

Mr. Ayaba who was not satisfied with the judgement passed by the Tamale Circuit Court, appealed against it at the Appeals Court in Tamale. On February 15, 2017, His Lordship Justice Daniel Kwaku Obeng gave his ruling as follows: “Appeal against the decision from His Honour William Appiah Twumasi Esq. Circuit Court Judge, Tamale dated September 7, 2016 is dismissed. The Conviction of the appellant/respondent is affirmed. Accordingly, the sentence imposed on him by the Circuit Court is set aside and is substituted with a fine of 5000 penalty units in default serve 5 years imprisonment in hard labour”.

At the time of filing this report, Mr. Patrick Ayaba was in court again to face a civil action brought against him by Abdulai Sita.  

Help Assemblies To Identify Priority Areas For Investment –Journalists Urged

Mr. Awal Ahmed

The Executive Director of Rural Initiatives for Self Empowerment Awal Ahmed, has urged journalists to help District Assemblies to identify the priorities and needs of their citizens so that they can make the right investments that will bring economic improvement in their lives.

He said one way journalists could effectively help the District Assemblies is by highlighting the priorities and needs of ordinary citizens to the attention of local officials so that those priorities and needs could be captured during planning and budgeting processes.

According to him, some District Assemblies refuse to take on board the wishes and concerns of their people when drawing their development plans or planning the execution of projects that are supposedly intended for the benefit of the people. 

“Apart from the president, the only people political appointees such as District Chief Executives will listen to are journalists. As the voice of the people, you know and understand what the needs of ordinary citizens are and therefore, you can help amplify the concerns of citizens so that the DCE can see reason to consider them”, Mr. Ahmed said this during a workshop organised by RISE-Ghana and the Centre for Democratic Development in Tamale.

The workshop was organised for selected media actors to build their capacity as part of efforts to improve governance and the quality of service delivery at the district level. It was intended to enhance the knowledge of journalists in using evidence from the District League Table (DLT) and the I Am Aware Data to inform evidence based advocacy for improved service delivery.

The primary purpose of the workshop was to create awareness and identify key service delivery areas such as health, education, water and among others for citizens, and for the media to champion and monitor for improved service delivery for better outcomes in sectors such as health, education, security, governance, water and sanitation.

Development at the District Assembly level is often largely dependent on the efforts of local authorities and the amount of resources they are able to generate locally through taxes. At times, too, periodic support in the form of the District Assembly’s Common Fund, District Development Fund and among others from the central government and other development partners, makes it possible for Assemblies to provide the needed development for their people.

A Section Journalists At The Workshop

For instance, results of the annual DLT strongly suggest that, some District Assemblies are well endowed and therefore, are able to gather enough resources to implement monumental projects such as schools, hospitals, sanitation facilities, roads and markets among others.

On the other hand, the results also give an indication that other District Assemblies are unable to provide the same or similar facilities owing to lack of or inadequate revenue generation sources, disorganise priorities and incompetent civil servants. 

According to Mr. Ahmed, the DLT which was introduced in 2014 is a social accountability tool that ranks Ghana’s 216 districts by their level of development and service delivery. “Based on consultations with the ministries and agencies concerned, the DLT uses indicators from 6 key sectors –health, education, sanitation, water, governance and security to compile a single score for each district. 

“All the 216 districts are then ranked from the district in 1^st place down to that in 216^th place. With this ranking, it is possible to track which districts are doing well in Ghana and can be learnt from, and which ones are struggling and need greater support”, he explained.

The Executive Director RISE-Ghana encouraged journalists to visit www.iamawareghana.com and make use of relevant information cutting across health, education and water and sanitation. “Information and data on this website would tell you whether your district is on the right track in terms of development in the key areas cited”, he stressed.

Meanwhile, a three-member media monitoring group comprising of Mr. Muturla Issah from Radio Savannah, Mr. Zadok Kwame Gyesi, Daily Graohic and Mr. Joseph Ziem of The Daily Dispatch was formed to engage in social actions on public services.