The Honorary Consul of Ghana in Thailand, Dr. Sicha Singsomboon, has given firm assurance that his country is ready to support Ghana in its efforts to commercialize rice production.
He said Thailand’s support to Ghana in rice production would be through technology transfer, seed development, and packaging to increase yields.
He gave this assurance on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at a reception hosted by the Jospong Group of Companies, for a delegation of investors from Thailand.
The dinner was intended to welcome the Thai delegation to kick off the Ghana-Thailand rice collaboration project.
According to Dr. Sicha Singsomboom, he would be glad to see Ghana increase its rice production, which shows that Ghana has potential in that regard.
He said that not only will the collaboration between the two countries increase rice production, but it will also provide technical knowledge to Ghanaians involved in agriculture.
Honorary Consul Advisor, Thailand and Project Director, Dr. Vinnie Kumsomboon, said as part of the project, some Ghanaian agricultural students will be sponsored to Thailand to learn how to grow Thai rice to increase production.
Earlier, in his welcome, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, stressed that the partnership was a dream come true.
He allayed the fears of market players, saying that “Jospong will not reinvent the wheel but increase rice production in Ghana.”
He therefore hoped that the partnership would be successful and benefit Ghana in many ways.
He explained what motivated him to travel to Thailand which culminated in the establishment of a company in Thailand called Asia-Africa Cooperation, adding that this company is responsible for the fashion out of this historic partnership.
He said the trip to Thailand was necessitated by the declaration by HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that by mid-June, there would be a ban on the importation of fruit juice, poultry, and rice.
He noted that this was also highlighted in the 2023 budget statement by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
“That’s why we at Jospong took the challenge. As entrepreneurs, what we see is solving problems, so we visited rice farms, rice factories, seed development centers, rice research centers, and technical institutions and the Exim Bank of Thailand has promised. to offer $ 160 million to support the project,” he said.
He said the trip gave birth to the Asia-Africa Cooperation Company in Thailand, which led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding to ensure that wherever in Ghana, rice should be produced with the availability of water.
“Jospong’s idea in the rice sector is not to compete but to support rice production in the country,” he said.
According to him, a team has been formed which has gone around all the 16 regions of Ghana to ascertain the way of technical transfer.
Present at the event was the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, who pledged his ministry’s readiness to support in all forms needed to realize the Ghana-Thailand rice project.
Member of Parliament for Juaboso, who is also the CEO of Akando Rice, the Chairman of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Board, Nana Adjei Ayeh II, and the Director-Technical Coordinator and Program Director, Ghana Cares, Obaatanpa Program in the Ministry of Finance, Ms Eva Esselba Mends, all assured Jospong of their support which is unrelated.
The event was also used to launch two important initiatives to protect the environment. The first is the launch of the Save Planet Agro Economic Development Association to ensure rice production, seed development, and research among others, and the second is the Thai-Ghana Business Chamber.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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