Farmers in Afram Plains Engaged in Fish Farming

Skyfox Limited, investors in aquaculture, has provided over ten fish ponds and 600 acres of irrigation lands to communities in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District to help create jobs.

Skyfox in partnership with the Afram Plains Development Organization (APDO) a non- governmental organization, with support from the USAID handed over the three- year integrated aquaculture and vegetable prooduction program.

The project, an initiative of Skyfox Limited forms part of the organization’s efforts to promote agriculture.

The project is also to empower women and the youth in agriculture and in line with the government’s “One district, one factory”, ‘Planting for food and jobs and the ‘Youth in Agriculture’ policies.

During an inspection at the project site at Adauso, Mr Patrick Apoya, the Chief Executive Officer of Skyfox Limited said the project would expose fish farmers to modern techniques in producing and harvesting fish.

Mr Apoya explained that, the organization provides fish ponds for group of farmers at a subsidy and 20 per cent of the profits made by the group goes to the organization and the 80 per cent to the group.

He said the project would be replicated in Kwahu Afram Plains North, Krachi Ntumuru and the Krachi East Districts of the Volta Region to support low income earners.

Mr. Apoya indicated that his organization would be targeting over 1.2 million people across the West African Sub Region including Sierra Leon, Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry and Liberia and 120,000 people in Ghana.

He said the project has also introduced intensive management strategy that would flash out waste water from the fish ponds and tapped to the irrigated fields.

This, he added was to ensure massive production of crops and fishes all year round.

Some of the crops grown under irrigation include cucumber, onions, pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, water melon among others.

Mr. Apoya disclosed that, plans were far advanced to liaise with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), vocational and technical institutions to help build their capacity for self employment.

He therefore pleaded with the government to partner his organization to help establish more of such projects in other parts of the  country.

Source: GNA