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Sugarcane farmers demand answers as Komenda sugar factory chooses imports over local produce

Nana Kweku Ackon, the Public Relations Officer for the Sugarcane Farmers Association, has raised serious concerns about the recent developments at the Komenda Sugar Factory, upon a call on Maakye live show, on the 8th of August 2024.

According to him, the government’s decision to lease the factory to private operators is not their major concern, but Executive’s recent choice to use imported brown sugar instead of their locally grown sugarcane.

“Our concern is not just about the leasing of the factory,” Nana Ackon says with frustration. “It’s about the way our agreement with the factory has been ignored.
We’ve planted over 20,000 acres of sugarcane, and it’s just sitting there, waiting to be harvested. We were assured that our sugarcane would be used in the factory.”

He recalls how, back in 2022, when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visited the factory, the management made a commitment to the farmers.

“They told us to harvest our sugarcane for the factory because the president was coming. We agreed, thinking this was a step toward revitalizing the factory and using our produce.”However, things took a turn for the worse.

“Before we even had a chance to discuss the details, we learned that the factory had started operations and had imported brown sugar,”

Nana Ackon explains. “This was not what we agreed upon. Our sugarcane was supposed to be processed at the factory, not imported sugar.”

Nana Ackon and his fellow farmers feel betrayed by this turn of events.

“We’ve done everything we were asked to do. We expanded our farms and maintained our crops, expecting that our sugarcane would be used. Instead, they chose to import sugar, which doesn’t help us at all. We want the management to know that our sugarcane is still available for harvest. We’re waiting for them to honor their commitment to us.”

“Our hope is that the factory will reconsider and start using our sugarcane as promised,”

Nana Ackon concludes. “Otherwise, this entire process will seem like a missed opportunity to support local agriculture and fulfill the commitments made to us.”

WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

Story by: Pepertual Anyimadu

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