Ghana, Africa: The government is to facilitate mass production of "Kapala" sorghum in Northern Ghana to feed the country's breweries under the President's Special Initiative aimed at creating employment and reducing poverty in the area. To this end, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is supporting the Food Research Institute (FRI) to try out the potential of the Kapala variety for malt under a 10 million-dollar project. Hajia Alima Mahama, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives, announced this at a Rural Enterprises Development Programme (REDP) Sensitisation/Consensus Workshop in Tamale.

Hajia Mahama said a malting plant had been installed at the FRI, where a pilot project is currently in operation, adding that Guinness Ghana Limited and some major breweries in the country had expressed interest in the project. She said the country produced only 900 tonnes of Kapala sorghum this year, even though Guinness Ghana would need about 10,000 tonnes of the variety next year.

The REDP, which is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiative, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Ministry of Food and Agriculture, is intended to facilitate efforts to develop the resource potentials of all the 110 districts in the country to promote growth in all sectors of the economy.

30 September, 2003