Nyanyano gets cold storage facility
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) has built and handed over a cold storage facility to the Nyanyano fishing community, near Kasoa in the Central Region.
Advertisement
The facility, which was constructed to address post-harvest fish losses, is equipped with a cold room, a blast freezer, an ice-maker, a standby generator, an electrical lifter and a cold van.
This is the second to be constructed after the first was built and handed over to the people of Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.
Speaking at the handover ceremony on Monday, the sector Minister, Ms Sherry Ayittey, said four other communities in the country would soon have theirs.
The communities, she said, were Shama, New Takoradi and Half Assini, all in the Western Region, and Kormantse in the Central Region.
Post-harvest losses
She said the rationale for the construction of the cold storage facility was that fish losses recorded, especially during bumper harvests, were high because fishermen were not sending ice to sea.
"These cold stores will help improve the income of fishermen. In the event of a bumper harvest, fishermen will not be compelled to sell their catch at unattractive prices due to lack of storage facilities," Ms Ayittey said.
Touching on funding for the project, she said seven million euros was secured from the government of Spain for the construction of the six storage facilities.
The minister stressed the need for a proper maintenance system to be put in place to ensure that the cold storage facilities lasted longer.
Water situation
The District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Mr Moses Jehu-Appiah, commended the government for the project and gave an assurance that measures would be taken to protect the storage facility.
He said as part of efforts to improve the well-being of the fishermen and residents of Nyanyano, the assembly was in the process of constructing market stores to promote business in the area.
"When completed, the market stores will create the environment for people to carry out business ventures and other development operations," he said.
Mr Jehu-Appiah also said his outfit would make sure that problems that hindered the growth of Nyanyano and affected the livelihoods of the people were addressed.
Quick read
A cold storage facility to address post-harvest losses has been built and handed over to the people of Nyanyano, a fishing community at Kasoa in the Central Region.