ASSOCIAITON CREATES EMPLOYMENT FOR YOUTH (PAGE 28, APREIL 5, 2010)

A Farmer-based organisation located at Kanvilli, a suburb of Tamale, Kpangmanga Youth Association, has chalked up a lot of successes in their farming activities that have resulted in employment for the youth in the area.
The association has been able to acquire a tractor and maize sheller valued at GH¢13,400 to improve upon their farming activities.
The group raised an initial GH¢6,700 through the sale of starter pack maize and their weekly contribution. With the tractor, they ploughed 20 acres of farmland and an amount of GH¢800 was realised from the activities of the tractor.
A four-member tractor operation committee was established and a bank account has been opened where all the proceeds from the tractor services would be lodged to help the group pay for the full cost of the equipment by December 30, 2012.
With an initial membership of 20 men and women who are into rice and maize production and processing, the group, formed in February, 2005 currently has a membership of 50. The group had no financial and technical support and therefore became dormant in 2006.
However, it became a beneficiary of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) Commercial Development of Farmer -Based Organisations (CDFO) programme.
The group was part of the first set of 108 Farmer- Based Organizations (FBOs) to benefit from the CDFO training in the Northern Intervention Zone.
According to the Chairman of the association, Mr. Mahama Mahami; during the six-week business capacity training followed by another three weeks of technical training, the Northern Regional Implementation Consultants (RIC), of the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) saw the potential in the group and through the assistance of the Technical and Training Service Providers (TTSP) followed the group’s activities closely.
He further explained that the group was encouraged to take up the challenge as stated in their business plan to look for alternative source of revenue for the group.
“Each group member was encouraged to increase their dues to a weekly fee of GH¢10 ” he said.
Mr. Mahami noted that when each member received the starter pack of improved maize seed, fertilizer, nose mask, wellington boots and hermatic storage bags from the MiDA, each member donated a bag of maize from the starter pack farms to be sold and money added to their regular contribution to the association.
“When we started this group in 2005 with 20 members, little did we know that with support in terms of organizational capacity building and motivation in the form of starter pack from MiDA we could attain this level of success” the chairman indicated.
“We can now boast of having our tractor with all the necessary implements and a maize sheller; we now have a lifeline aside our normal farming business” he added.