About 5,500 jobs for women, persons with disability and the youth are expected to be created from the European Union (EU) Adentan Mushroom project, Mrs Philomena Norman, Project Coordinator of the Programme has said.
The project funded by the EU with an amount of 820,000 euros is in collaboration with the Adentan Municipal Assembly (AdMA), the Centre for Local Governance and Advocacy and the Local Government Network.
The three-year project, is aimed at promoting local economic development and job opportunities in the Municipality as well as help improve the environment through sustainable practices along the production chain in the mushroom industry.
She said this in Accra when an EU delegation visited the project in Accra.
Mrs Norman said the project was also to develop an environmentally sustainable production chain in mushrooms in the municipality and promote its production for job creation, reduction of poverty and increased revenue.
She encouraged residents within the municipality to take advantage of the opportunity to increase employment rate and expand the local economy.
Mrs Norman announced that a spawn laboratory was currently under construction to serve as a training and quality control centre, adding that with support of the Business Advisory Centre, the project had identified a number of mushroom farmers and provided them with enhanced training.
She stressed that women groups have also been mobilized and equipped with knowledge on how to add value to the mushroom by processing of product into pizza, bread and chips.
Mr Paolo Salvia, the Acting Ambassador of the EU delegation in Ghana said the idea to fund the project was part of the EU’s decentralization process in the country aimed at reducing poverty.
He said it was the first time the EU was engaging in such funding initiative in the country and was hopeful that the project would be beneficial to all stakeholders involved and achieve the purpose for which it was established.
Mr Alexander Nii-Noi Adumuah, Municipal Chief Executive for the AdMA said the project was in line with government agenda of ‘one district one factory’ to scale-up jobs for the citizenry.
He encouraged other municipalities across the country to consider venturing into such project as an avenue to create jobs for the people in the community and contribute to the reduction in the rate of unemployment.
She added that plans were advanced to expand and upgrade road infrastructure that connected farming communities to marketing centres.
Source: GNA