Donald Dzameshie Highlights On Investment And Business Potential In The Akatsi South Constituency. Akatsi south constituency has a vast arra...
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| Donald Dzameshie Highlights On Investment And Business Potential In The Akatsi South Constituency. |
Akatsi south constituency has a vast array of investment opportunities available to be exploited by private investors. About 75% of the population of the district work in agriculture.
The land in the constituency is well suited for commercial farming. The main crops cultivated are maize, cassava, sweet potato, cowpeas, groundnuts and vegetables. The land is low lying and can support mechanised farming. Two agricultural companies in the constituency at present produce a variety of vegetables of Asian origin under irrigation and export about 25,260 kg annually.
Perennial crops like oil palm, mango, cashew, coconut, black berry and pineapple are also cultivated. Cattle production is carried out on a large scale in some parts of the constituency. Sheep, goats and pigs are reared throughout the constituency but not on large commercial basis, even though great potential exists for this. The same situation applies to poultry farming.
There are large tracts of land and man-made dams at Akatsi, Ave-Dakpa, Atsiekpvi, Ave-Afidenyigba, Geifa, Lume Alugakope, Ashiagborvi and Dzalele, Ayitekofe, which guarantee water for irrigation.
The dams at Akatsi and Atsiekpu are currently being used for irrigation. Current manufacturing industries are small scale or cottage industries, centred around carpentry, block making, basketry and mat weaving.
The constituency has large clay deposits used locally for poultry. Feasibility studies show that the commercial exploitation life- span ranges between 85 and 2,386 years. Granite deposits at Ave-Hevi, Hedavi, Ashiagborvi and Torve can facilitate the establishment of quarries to support the construction industry.
Since raw materials are available locally, the cost of setting up a brick and tile manufacturing industry or a factory for the production of ceramic products would be low.
Sugar cane is cultivated and distilled into alcohol, known locally as Akpeteshie, while palm wine is also tapped from palm trees and distilled into alcohol. Indeed, the raw materials for distilling akpeteshie are readily available in the district as the soil is good for the cultivation of both sugar cane and oil palm.
Akpeteshie is a key component in a lot of alcoholic beverages produced in Ghana. Akatsi has an identifiable and growing non-traditional export sector that can be developed. These include bee keeping, snail farming and cashew cultivation.
Tourism Attractions
There are a lot of potential tourist sites, which need to be developed. The main attractions in the constituency however include the following:
Xavi Bird-watching & River-tours Project
The above project is a Community-based Eco-Tourism Project which is a collaborative effort between the Akatsi District Assembly (i.e. The Wetlands Department) the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) Accra, the Ghana
Tourist Board (GTB) Ho, the US Peace Corps-Ghana and the Project Community of Xavi. The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and the US Forestry Service are now assisting the project.
The constituency has already sunk in some amount of resources including the manufacture of a Canoe for boat tours and bird watching, manufacture of direction Sing/Notice boards, and the provision of accommodation at the Guest House No. I for the US Peace Corps Volunteer.
Klu Adela Museum.
The above project is also a collaborative project between the Assembly, NCRC, GTB and the Klu family of Akatsi (M.O.U singed on file) the Assembly has already committed some funds towards the realization of the project objectives including rehabilitating a room at the Klu family house - Akatsi for the safe custody of the Cultural Artifacts; Acquisition of land for the Cultural Village
Complex, funding of the Documentation and compilation of the History of Klu "Adela".
The Project Proposal has been submitted to the UNESCO Country Director for study and approval for funding.
Traditional Festivals
The Traditional Festivals celebrated in the constituency are Hogbeza, Agbeliza, Denyaza, Ameshikpe and Ebliza festivals. Hogbeza is celebrated during the second week of December each year to commemorate the migration of the Avenor people from their original home, Avenor-Ketukpe in the Republic of Togo.
The Avenorpedo community celebrates Agbeliza. It is celebrated in the first week of August to recognize the importance of cassava in the life of the people.
The main feature is the exhibition of cassava products namely, gari, tapioca, yakayaka, chips, doughnuts and bread. The best cassava farmer is honoured at a durbar of chiefs and people.
Denyaza is a festival celebrated locally in a number of communities, usually during Easter or Christmas. The main features of these festivals are reconciliation rituals, purification of clan shrines and a congress of the chiefs and people.
The finale is always a grand durbar, which is usually addressed by the President or His representative. The traditional drumming and dancing are a common feature of such festivals and ot all other occasions.
These occasions are for the coming together of citizens of the area especially those residents in other towns and cities.
They are occasions for renewing allegiance to the leadership of the people, mainly the paramount chiefs of the area and to showcase the culture of the people. During these festivals, completed development projects are commissioned, and development plans for the next year discussed and adopted.
Location & Size:
Area
Total land area of about 906,445sq km.
Location
The constituency is located in the South-Eastern part of the Volta Region. It has a total land area of about 960.445 sq. km. The total land under cultivation is about 51,438.12 hectares. The constituency is bounded to the South by the Keta constituency, to the East by the Ketu North constituency: to the North by North Tongu constituency to the West, Adaklu Anyigbe constituency and the Republic of Togo to complete the demarcation of the Akatsi constituency.
The constituency is located between latitude 6° S - 7° North 0° W - 1 ° W.
Topology & Drainage
Topography
The topography of the constituency generally is gently undulating with a general elevation of the land averaging 10-50 meters above sea level, and a peculiar coastal savanna soil, ground water laterite and tropical black earth. The constituency is a low-lying coastal plain with flatland in the south and rolling plain to the north.
Drainage
About 60% of the total land area lies below 100 feet contour line and rising to cover over 200 feet in the northern parts. Rivers and creeks, such as Tordzi, Agblegoibe, Wowoe Lotor and Kutoe, drain the Akatsi south constituency.
The first three empty their waters into the Keta and Avu lagoons. Some of these are dammed for irrigation during dry season.
Climate & Vegetation
Climate
The elements of importance in the climate of the constituency are temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind is of significance mainly during the dry season when inflow of the Harmmattan winds accelerated the drying up of the savanna grasses and during the periods of the occasional line squalls.
The constituency falls within the coastal savannah equatorial climatic regime characterized by high temperatures (min: 21° C max: 34.5° C), high relative humidity (85%) and moderate to low rainfall regime (1,084 mm) with distinct wet and dry seasons of about equal lengths
Vegetation & Fauna
The vegetation of the constituency is made up of coastal savannah in the south and savannah woodland to the North. The "agoti" (Palm-borasus) palm is found in isolated places in the northwestern parts of the constituency.
The black berry (Velvet tanarid) locally called "atitoeti" is an important economic tree that can be found in most parts of the areas surrounding Akatsi town. In the far northwest, around the Avu lagoon and its creeks are large track of reed locally known as "Keti" and used in weaving mats.
Geology & Soil
Geology
The constituency falls within these underlying geological formations. The acidic gneiss belt, forming 70% of the land area. Tertiary Sand -25% and basimorphic acidic gneiss about 5% is recent alluvial material.
The acidic belt consists mainly of layered coarse to fine grained muscovite biotite, schists and containing numerous quartz veins. There are outcrops ofnegivine, augite and syenite either as inselberg or shallow exposed surface all over this geological formation.
Soils
Three main soil types characterize the constituency. The South-eastern portion is characterized by Tertiary sands which are moderate to well-drained, deep red to brown loamy sand to sandy loam topsoil over course sandy loam to clay loam sub-soils.
These soils are suitable for the cultivation of all arable crops. Within this dominant soil can be found in the valley bottoms and depressions, poorly drained and plastic glecal clays, suitable for commercial sugarcane production as well as for ceramic and pottery industry.
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