The Talensi District Assembly in collaboration with World Vision Ghana, established the factory and one other at Winkogo, yet to come on stream, expected to provide one hundred direct jobs to the rural women.

Dr Christopher Boatbil, the Talensi District Chief Executive, had met the press to highlight development programmes in the area over the last three years.

"Let me state clearly that government did not say it was going to provide money for all the districts to undertake the one district one factory initiative. It was also included in our manifesto that it was going to be private-sector-led, so we were going to liaise with development partners to implement the project," the DCE said.

Dr Boatbil disclosed that about 40 bags of shea nuts had been given to the women operating in the Sheaga factory to process while the Assembly was working to connect the one at Labiisi in Winkogo with electricity for operations to begin.

On agriculture, the DCE said over 1,400 famers in the district had benefitted from the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJs) initiative and about 5,147 bags of NPK fertilizer and 160 bags of Urea were received and distributed to the farmers.

The Assembly had procured and distributed free of charge to 125 farmers, 5,500 seedlings of cashew under the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) and about 50 hectares of land had been cultivated, he said.

In order to provide good storage facilities for farmers to keep their produce and enable them to sell them at profitable prices later in the year, a 1,000 metric tonnes capacity warehouse was being constructed at Pusu-Namongo.

To further boost the growth of the local economy and increase the Internally Generated Funds of the Assembly, the DCE noted, "The Assembly has invested its share of the one million dollars per constituency into the provision of six 10-seater water closet toilet facilities to institutions and communities".

The DCE said about 700 jobs had been created for the youth in the area under various sectors such as the Nation Builder's Corps (NaBCo) and Local Government among others.

On education, Dr Boatbil said the Assembly had renovated 14 schools that were damaged by rainstorm and given out 400 metal dual desks to the District Education Directorate to be given to schools while additional 800 metal dual desks were being made.