WAATCO to offer agric solutions to farmers in the northern region
The West Africa Agro-Tech Company Ghana Limited (WAATCO), dealers in agricultural machinery, has opened its showroom, services, training centre and spare parts depot in Tamale, to offer total agricultural solutions to farmers in the region.
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The company, which is also the sole dealer in “ Sonalika” brand of tractors, farming implements and irrigation systems in Ghana from India, has also put measures in place to provide door-to-door services to its customers and train the youth and mechanics at the district levels as a way of contributing to skills development and job creation in the region.
The inauguration of the Tamale showroom brings to three, the showrooms opened by the company in the country after that of Accra and Kumasi and there are plans to cover the seven remaining regions.
As part of its five-year plan, the company is to deliver and assemble 5,000 tractors in Ghana and to eventually have an assembly plant to manufacture some components of tractors in Ghana.
Inauguration
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, who performed the inaugural ceremony in Tamale, commended WAATCO for complementing the government’s effort to promote intensive mechanisation and to make agriculture production attractive, especially to the youth of the country.
Alhaji Limuna stated that the introduction of the brand of ‘Sonalika’ tractors would bridge the farmer to tractor ratio, leading to increase in income levels of farmers for improved standard of living for Ghanaian farmers.
“These Sonalika tractors, farm implements and the irrigation systems would help infuse some dynamism in the agricultural production landscape of the country and it is welcome news that private sector players such as WAATCO are complementing government efforts to make farming appealing and rewarding to our farming population,”Alhaji Limuna added.
Objective/Investment
The Group Chairman of WAATCO, Mr Patel Akoliya, said the company’s wide range of tractors and farming implements were designed in such a way that during the off season, with the assistance of implements, the tractor could be used for mining, construction and haulage, due to its rugged specifications, which was also an ideal choice for co-operative farming and rentals.
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He said the company planned to open seven more showrooms in the other remaining seven regions of the country after those in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
Mr Akoliya announced that the company for the next five years hoped to invest US$200m into the Ghanaian economy and appealed to the government for its support in that direction, adding that the company’s current plan of investment was US$ 20million.
The President of the Ghana Agriculture Chamber of Commerce, Mr Philip Abayori, lauded the company for extending its services to the Northern Region, adding that the organisation’s core duty was to create a formidable agricultural platform in Ghana, take advantage of the opportunities in the agricultural sector of Ghana and inspire confidence for local and international investors.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Hanan Gundadow, said the assembly would continue to create a congenial environment and put in place the necessary infrastructure to attract potential investors to the metropolis to create jobs for the youth.