Manasa to help Ghana set up agri enterprises

The Hyderabad-based Manasa group has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), a government of Ghana’s agency, here on Friday for setting up integrated agriculture enterprises in the African country.

Manasa, a producer of lemon grass oil, cultivates large tracts of land through contract farming with tribal farmers in Odisha and small farmer groups in Andhra Pradesh and Malawi (southern Africa).

SADA is an independent agency in the Republic of Ghana with its main thrust on coordinating a comprehensive development agenda that will address the growth and sustainable development of the northern Ghanaian economy.

“In this respect SADA is pursuing a number of projects, in which the Manasa Group is participating as a partner on a mutually beneficial basis,” group managing director, RSN Raju, told mediapersons.

According to Raju, Manasa would work closely with local partners in Ghana — Wynstons Limited, which would extend local support, including, facilitating resource mobilisation, logistics and coordinate ground level activities, which would enable in successful implementation of the project.

Manasa’s responsibilities  include transfer of technology, implement global best practices to achieve defined objectives, source and procure inputs and subsequently develop these inputs at the integrated agriculture farm for supply to other farms. It would also impart training in modern agricultural practices to local farmers and help the government create small clusters of individual farms operated by trained farmers.

Ghana’s minister of state in charge of development authorities, Mustapha Ahmed, said their government would provide land in preferred location on a long-term basis, facilitate funding, among others.