Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited (GGBL), producers of Ruut Extra Premium Beer, has presented farm implements worth GH¢70,000 to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support the upcoming Farmers’ Day.
According to Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Acting Corporate Relations Director at GGBL, the donation was part of the company’s efforts to develop a sustainable supply chain.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in Accra yesterday during the presentation of the items towards the 31st National Famers’ Day scheduled for December 4, Ms Rockson said the main purpose of the donation was to motivate farmers to keep up their good work.
‘Ruut Extra Premium Beer is Ghana’s first cassava beer. In the past few years, we have supported the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Farmers’ Day celebrations. We have been partnering with the ministry since the 29th edition and this is the 3rd year,’ she said.
The package included Yamma Mill for the National Best Cassava Farmer, five tricycles to the five Regional Best Farmers, fishing nets and hooks to the best Western Regional Fisherman, eight boxes of farming toolkits to each of the above awardees, 10 crates of Ruut Extra Premium Beer and 10 branded Polo shirts, among others.
‘Also for the opening and closing ceremony, we are also supporting them with 50 crates of Ruut Beer and 60 crates of Malta Guinness and Alvaro for their get-together,’ she added.
Alhaji Yakubu Alhassan, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, commended GGBL for the kind gesture and urged other Ghanaian agribusinesses to emulate the gesture.
As at 2012, GGBL used about 12 percent of cassava grown locally for brewing beer and in 2015, the company is at 48 percent.
‘I’m told that by 2020, GGBL is gunning to use 80 percent of locally produced material from our farms to brew beer and we need to encourage them to do so. This will ensure that our farmers would continue with the good work they are doing,’ Alhaji Alhassa stated.
He called on other agribusinesses to motivate farmers by purchasing the local produce and converting them into secondary products that result in value addition and job creation between the farmers and the consumers.
By Daily Guide
