KNUST, Desert Lions sign pact on agric equipment

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is to partner Desert Lions International to establish a plant to manufacture and assemble agricultural equipment locally.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed to begin the production of the first 100,000 spraying machines for the cocoa sector.

The company is to use expertise from the agriculture and natural resources sectors, as well as the engineering departments of the university for the project and also help build the capacities of local engineers and technicians to aid the agric sector in general.

It is expected that within the next two years, the university together with Desert Lions International, will be able to produce the machines locally and build its own spare parts.

Subsequently, the company has begun the construction of a three-phased plant expected to be completed in 2018 at Ejisu in the Ejisu Municipal Assembly of the Ashanti Region.

Research findings

However, the first phase, which is estimated to cost one million Ghana cedis, will be ready in six months.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Desert Lions, Mr Kwame Tweneboah Kodua, said the deal was to help commercialise the research findings of the university to make them useful to industry and help bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The company is to recruit up to 150 students to help minimise the unemployment situation in the country and improve the cocoa and palm oil sectors.

KNUST

The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Professor William Otoo-Ellis, signed for the university and expressed the hope that such a deal would help actualise the dream of making KNUST the main provider of the country’s technical needs.

Prof. Otoo-Ellis also superintended another MoU with Union Oil to supply the university with fuel to power its generators and fleet of cars on credit.

The relationship is part of the university’s move of cutting down cost, monitoring its fuel consumption and avoiding corruption.

Union Oil has established a station to serve the university and its environs and is ready to provide a standby tanker for the university to ensure that even in times of shortage, KNUST would not be affected.

The Chief Executive Officer of Union Oil, Charles Obeng-Mensah, promised to train its staff to ensure integrity and avoid collusion between fuel attendants and staff members of the university at the pumps.