THE Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr John Dumelo, has commissioned a new Agricultural Mechanisation Centre for Smallholder Farmers in the Eastern Region.
The Mechanisation Centre is a partnership between Ghanaian outfit, Hawkrad Agric and Mechanisation Services and Captain Tractors, a leading Indian tractor manufacturer and provider of modern, durable, and cost-effective implements for diverse farming conditions across Ghana’s agricultural zones.
The centre targets the large segment of Ghanaian farmers who are unable to afford full-scale industrial tractors but whose farm operations far exceed what manual labour alone can support.
Speaking at the ceremony, which also saw the official launch of the Captain Tractors onto the Ghanaian market, Mr Dumelo stated that the centre was a major initiative that would help farmers have access to modern tools and implements to improve productivity, reduce delays in farming operations, and enhance food security in the country.
“The introduction of the centre and its tractors is a deliberate and strategic intervention to bridge the mechanisation gap for smallholder farmers.”
“For too long, our smallholder farmers have been caught in the middle ground, needing more power than a hoe. These tractors represent precision and accessibility, which will allow for easy movement across diverse terrains while delivering the horsepower required to transform farm operations,” he explained.
According to him, the initiative was not about replacing the farmer; it was about empowering the farmer to do more and live better, reducing farmers’ reliance on “backbreaking manual labour”, enhancing timely farm operations and ensuring that planting and harvesting happen at the optimal biological window.
“The Mechanisation Centre is the most critical component of the initiative; a tractor without a service centre is merely a ticking clock. This centre will serve as a sanctuary for maintenance, a hub for spare parts, and, most importantly, a classroom,” he stated.
The Eastern Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr Samuel Barima Offiso, described the centre as essential to improving productivity and incomes.
He explained that the partnership between Hawkrad Group Limited and Captain Tractors would provide mechanisation services not only to the enclave but to the entire Eastern Region and Ghana at large.
The Chief Executive Officer of Hawkrad Agric and Mechanisation Services, Nana Antwi Darkwah, emphasised that mechanisation should be considered a public service system rather than simply the provision of machines.
He stressed that smallholder farmers do not necessarily need to own machinery but require reliable and affordable services.
The Kwahuhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng III, and the Kwahu Obomenghene, Nana Effah Opinamang III, both expressed gratitude to Nana Antwi Darkwah for establishing the facility in the area and urged farmers to form cooperative unions to take advantage of the centre with the hope of boosting productivity in the region.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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