Cattle ranch project: Kintampo North MP questions agric minister

The Member of Parliament for the Kintampo North Constituency, Joseph Kwame Kumah, on Wednesday 5th August 2021 asked the minister of food and agriculture, Dr. Akoto Afriyie, about the status of the proposed cattle ranch project to be sited in his constituency.

The honorable minister who was in parliament to answer questions from members revealed that the Kintampo North in the Bono East Region is among four other districts selected to benefit from the development of grazing reserves and corridor systems for peaceful transhuman practices in Ghana.

The other districts are Adaklu in the Volta Region, Fanteakwa North in the Eastern region, Sekyere Afram Plains, and Sekyere Kumawu in the
Ashanti Region. He added that the technical studies and financial proposals have been completed by the technical team of the Ghana Cattle Ranching Project.

Hon Joseph Kwame Kumah also averred that he was aware that his predecessor, Hon. Kwasi Etu-Bonde, who was in the 7th parliament initiated a cattle ranch project upon a visit by the Canadian Deputy Minister of Agriculture based on which an exchange visit was embarked upon by himself and the Hon Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Kintampo North.

The Canadian team which was made up of Canadian Government officials and investors in the company of the Ghana High Commissioner to Canada Hon. Ayikoi Otoo engaged the staff of the Kintampo Municipal Assembly and even inspected the proposed site of the project which was intended to solve the perennial challenges and often altercations between animal rearers and crop farmers.

He further quizzed whether the project being mentioned by the minister was a new one or the originally proposed project since Ghana has a lot to learn from Canadians when it comes to cattle ranching.

Hon Joseph Kwame Kumah later in an interview further stated that under the proposed cattle ranching project, the Canadian government was to commit an amount of 7.5 million Canadian dollars to the project which had beef and milk production integrated into it.

“Regrettably, the Hon Minister's response to my question on the floor of parliament seems to suggest that the government is abandoning this very laudable and much more profitable project for similar one of lesser capacity since he did not mention anything regarding the Canadian government’s support” he noted.

He indicated his intentions to follow up with the Minister of Agriculture on the matter since it will be unfortunate that a proposed CAD 7.5 million project for Kintampo North alone will be replaced with a similar one of GHS 7.2 million for 4 districts.