Dzolo chiefs appeal for palm oil factory

The Afefia of the Dzolo Traditional Area in the Ho West District, Togbe Agbedomegbe Koffie II, has urged the government to establish a palm oil factory in the locality to open up the area for trade in palm oil products.

Establishing the palm oil factory in the area, he said, would benefit the teeming youth of the area.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Togbe Koffie said the area had the capacity to provide the factory with raw materials as the people were well noted for producing the best palm oil, locally called, ‘dzomi’, which they sold locally and internationally.

“The Ho West District has arable lands for the cultivation of oil palm trees that will feed the factory,” he stated.

The Afefia of Dzolo said Ghana Beyond Aid was possible but could materialise only when the government gave local communities the opportunity to identify unique core competencies in their areas and proffer solutions to their own problems.

Towns to benefit

A factory of that nature, Togbe Koffie indicated, would benefit small-scale farmers in nearby communities such as Saviefe, Akome, Dodome, Hlefi and Anfoe through an outgrower scheme that would ensure constant supply of raw materials to the factory.

That, he explained, would solve the problem of poverty and unemployment among the youth in the area.

He stressed the readiness of the chiefs of Dzolo to release 2,000 acres of land for the factory if the government decided to consider building it, saying the chiefs were determined to help the government to succeed in its industrialisation agenda.

Observing that the oil palm industry had helped economies such as Malaysia and Indonesia to be considered among great countries of the world, he expressed regret that the palm tree was not given the needed attention in West Africa as was accorded cocoa and cashew.

“The unemployment level among the youth in the area is of great concern to the traditional authority, hence our desire to help the government to solve the problem,” Togbe Koffie stated.

Most chiefs, he noted, had great ideas that could help transform the country and that the government should collaborate with them to achieve results.