Vice President John Dramani Mahama has secured a 1000 tractor facility running into millions of dollars from India’s farm machinery manufacturer Mahindra to support Ghana’s agricultural sector.
The company has also agreed to support the government with other agricultural machinery and spare parts component.
Addressing the press on his arrival at the Kotoka International Airport from India where he attended the 6th Asia-Africa Conclave in New Delhi, Mr. Mahama described the trip as fruitful and basketful of opportunities.
The Vice-President, who was accompanied by the President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Nana Owusu-Afari, attended three-day conclave with other ministers, business people and experts from 34 African countries to discuss business projects worth $9 billion.
Vice-president John Dramani Mahama, who was the guest of honour at the conclave, said the Ghanaian delegation took advantage of the conclave to renew and facilitate bilateral projects arrangements between the two countries.
Significance among this project is India’s readiness to establish a fertilizer plant in Ghana which would use expected bi-products of the oil find to support the industry.
It is estimated that the facility will supply Ghana’s total fertilizer needs and the excess exported to India.
According to the Vice-President a team of Indian experts were expected in the country in a couple of weeks to conduct feasibility studies on a canalisation of the Accra Plains, using water from the lower Volta to irrigate the land, adding that a similar project had been designed for the White Volta to irrigate the overseas areas of the Northern Region.
Mr. Mahama mentioned that with the support of India, Ghana was looking at the possibility of setting up an urban transport system that would run on gas instead of diesel.
“The country is also looking at further possibilities of securing India Oversea Development Assistance into strategic sectors of the country such as energy, especially rural electrification, agricultural and agro-processing.
He was welcome at the airport by the India High Commissioner to Ghana Ruchi Ghanashyam and Mr. Baffoe-Bonney, Special Advisor to the Vice-President.
The conclave laid out a roadmap for the second edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit to be held next year. India hosted the first summit in New Delhi in 2008.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna inaugurated the conference that sought to give a fresh momentum to India s multifaceted engagement with the African continent.
The sixth India-Africa Project Partnership conclave has been jointly organised by the commerce and external affairs ministries, the EXIM bank and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The conclave revolved around four linked sub-themes: India-Africa partnership, Rural economies, Africa tomorrow and Going Green.
The meet provided a platform for Indian and African leaders to intensify their bilateral and regional partnerships, scale up Indian participation in Indian participation in Africa s long-term development projects, enhance capacity building initiatives and resource mobilization programmes.
Story: Wisdom Peter Awuku
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