The Amantin Agro-Processing Company Limited in the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality of the Bono East Region will start operation by the end of July 2021.

The Administrator of the factory, Mr Napoleon Matthew Tei disclosed this when the Bono East Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, paid a working visit to the factory. The Regional Minister paid the visit during his three-day tour of the eastern part of the region to ascertain the progress of work at the factory.

According to Mr Tei, about 94 per cent of work on the cassava processing facility under the government’s flagship programme “one-district-one-factory” has been completed.

He stated that “we intend to start actual production by the end of July 2021”, explaining that test running and computer programming had started.

The Atebubu-Amantin Agro Processing Plant, when completed will process cassava into industrial starch and related products. The factory will also produce ethanol for both domestic and international markets.

The factory’s waste materials will also be utilized to make animal feed, which will be distributed to local cow, pig, and fish farmers. When fully operational, the factory will process around 60 acres of raw cassava each day, producing 300 tonnes of industrial starch.

During its initial stage of operation, the factory is expected to process about 18,000 tonnes of cassava. This will later expand to 36,000 tonnes of fresh cassava to produce the 300 tonnes of industrial starch daily.

On employment, the factory is also expected to create about 6,000 direct and indirect jobs, consisting of 70 per cent males and 30 per cent females.

Access to Raw Materials

According to Mr Tei, the factory had cultivated 36,000 acres of cassava, which was ready for production, while additional 25,000 acres of cassava has been planted.

He explained that the factory has also engaged thousands of out-growers to ensure that more raw materials are available to feed the factory all year round.

Mr Tei said the out-growers had been supported with farm implements such as planting materials, fertilisers and chemicals in addition to assisting them in the preparation of their farmland.

“We intend to extend our facilities to the out-growers to ensure that the factory runs daily without shortage of raw materials.”

Furthermore, the company is collaborating with AGRA and Agric Impact as well as the PFJ secretariat to support more farmers to venture into cassava production.

Mr Tei explained that the majority of the workers would be employed from the district. He said that “the first people we intend to employ are the locals. They will be doing more on producing the raw materials”.

He mentioned that the establishment of the factory was aimed at enhancing the lives of citizens in the area. He said the factory would ensure that agriculture became a business venture for the people in the area to attract young people to venture into the sector.