Indian-owned West Africa Agro-Tech Company (WAATCO), based in Ghana, has invested $200 million in a tractor assembly plant at nearby Nsawam, to produce 500 tractors a year, said by the company's managing director Akoliya Patel.

The company is already selling India-made Sonalika tractors and farming machines, and is now planning to build agriculture service, as well as training, centers, in farming communities across the country.

Patel told IANS that the company will also train the youth both in Ghana and the West African region on how to generate opportunities in various fields of technology and services for farmers.

He said the service centers were being established to help "guarantee the lifespan of tractors and also reduce the long distances farmers have to travel to seek spare parts and technical supports in some cases".

At the plant launch ceremony, Ghanaian Food and Agriculture Minister Fifi Kwettey appealed for investments in the agriculture sector as it employed more than 50 percent of the country's population.

"The opening of the WAATCO office in Ghana is a clear indication of the growing partnership between Ghana and India," he said. "This is a huge collaboration between the people of Ghana and India which will bring a lot of transformation into the agriculture sector of this country," he added.

Source: IANS, Ghana