The Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Nigerian investment holding company, EGTA Investment Limited, to work together exclusively on identifying relevant experts, rice farmers and value chain players through EGTA to support the Jospong Rice project in Ghana – spearheaded by the Asian-African Consortium (AAC).
The MoU further sets out the general framework which shall serve as the foundation upon which a binding agreement shall be subsequently signed.
The Lead Coordinator for the Jospong Rice Project, Rev. George Tsidi Blavo, noted at the MoU signing ceremony in Abuja- Nigeria on Friday, September 8, 2023, that the economic vision of Ghana hinges on transforming its economy beyond aid, shifting from import dependency to becoming a manufacturing and value-added economy, with a central role of the private sector.
Adding that the AAC, is committed to contributing significantly to the transformative journey by partnering with countries and institutions possessing the necessary expertise.
“Given Ghana’s geographical proximity and similar economic characteristics, it is prudent for us to draw from Nigeria’s experiences and insights to achieve our goal of ensuring food security” he added.
“It is against this backdrop that we have chosen to pursue this MoU with EGTA of Nigeria, with the primary objective of promoting the growth and development of various agricultural sectors, including the production of rice, soya beans, wheat, yellow corn, sunflower, milling, storage, marketing, export, research, training and related industries,” he further stated.
The Managing Director of EGTA Investment, Bashiru Ibrahim, upon signing the MoU, notated that the future of Africa depends on the concept of cooperation, financial, investment, technical, social, economy and political cooperations between African nations.
He explained that under the Technical, financial and investment cooperation component of the MoU, “We are going to share the technical know-how, we are going to bring investment into Ghana and under training and capacity building, we will expose the players to a lot of training in both Nigeria and Ghana and even elsewhere so that whatever we do is in line with international best practices,” stressed Ibrahim.
“We are confident that at the end, this cooperation will create wealth and employment in the two countries and the private sector in both counties will set example for other private sector organizations to follow,” he concluded.
Ghana’s acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, H.E. Edison M. Agbenyega was excited that one of the cardinal foreign policies of Ghana which is economic diplomacy is uniting the various countries through economic activities adding that “this signing ceremony is a step towards achieving such goal.”
He observed that Nigeria has the potential to develop its agricultural sector to feed Africa and the rest of the world.
He reiterated that the planting for food and jobs project has contributed to Ghana’s agricultural growth “and indeed this is the underpinning policy to the MoU that we are signing today.”
The enduring brotherly relations between Ghana and Nigeria is a source of pride and the AAC is determined to continually strengthen the ties through robust collaborations for mutual benefit. Over the years, the two nations have cooperated in diverse fronts, including economic, trade, investment, technology, security and agriculture.
The Federal Government of Nigeria was represented at the ceremony by Hon. Muhammed Bello, Federal Minister of Water Resources who excitedly witnessed the signing ceremony to signify the importance the Nigerian government attaches to this partnership.