By Elizabeth Ama Ofosu, GNA
Koforidua (E/R), Oct. 08, GNA – Mr Stephen Boadi, President of the Conference of District Directors of Agriculture, has called for the revival of the Agricultural Mechanisation Services Enterprise Centre (AMSEC) initiative to improve farmers’ access to machinery and boost agricultural productivity.
He said the initiative remained critical to meeting the mechanisation needs of rural farmers but required adequate funding, stronger stakeholder support and effective management to achieve its intended objectives.
AMSEC, a public-private initiative launched by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 2007, was designed to modernise agriculture, reduce reliance on manual labour and improve smallholder farmers’ access to affordable farm machinery.
“It is key to addressing the mechanisation needs of poor rural farmers,” he said.
Mr Boadi made the call during an interaction with exhibitors at the just-ended maiden Eastern Regional Expo 2026 in Koforidua, as part of discussions on modernising agriculture through industrialisation and technology-driven innovation.
He said although AMSEC was a commendable initiative for promoting agricultural mechanisation, inadequate stakeholder engagement, limited funding and weak management practices had constrained its impact on food production.
He advocated the establishment of state-of-the-art Mechanisation Services Enterprise Centres across Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to provide farmers with mechanisation services at affordable rates.
Such centres, he said, would reduce the difficulties farmers encountered in accessing mechanisation services.
Mr Boadi, who is also the District Director of Agriculture for Asene Manso, urged District Directors of Agriculture in the Eastern region to take the lead in promoting modernised agriculture through the adoption of technology-driven machinery.
He said increased agricultural mechanisation would help improve productivity and meet the food needs of the population.
Blo Engineering Company, from the Yilo Krobo Municipality, exhibited a range of agricultural machinery and equipment at the Expo, including maize and rice threshers, brush cutters with 14 attachments and other motorised farm equipment.
The machinery attracted considerable interest from farmers attending the Expo.
The company also pledged to support farmers interested in purchasing its equipment through structured negotiations.
GNA
Edited by D.I. Laary/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
08 October 2026
Reporter: Elizabeth Ama Ofosu
Agricultural machinery exhibited at the Eastern Regional Expo.