The government has allocated a total of GHC 525,181 as grants to four organisations for skills development and poverty reduction in their various areas of operation.

The grantees include the Brong Ahafo Moringa Farmers Association (GHC 90,801), Ejisu- Juabeng Pig Farmers and Processors Association (GHC 67, 500), Volta Region Association of Beekeepers (GHC 144,360) and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (GHC 222,520). They are expected to use the funds to develop skills, increase the number of their employees as well as in productivity within two years.

The grant was presented to successful applicants under the first call for proposals for the Skills Development Fund (SDF), which is being managed by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) under the Ministry of Education.

The SDF is a Government of Ghana initiative and supported by the World Bank and DANIDA. It is a challenge fund meant to provide a demand -driven response to some critical challenges encountered by the productive sectors of the economy.

According to managers of the fund, grants of the SDF would be disbursed through four windows. These include formal sector skills training grant; informal sector skills training grant; grant for innovations in training and grants for the establishment of technology centres.

At a short ceremony in Accra to award the grants, Dr Daniel Baffour-Awuah,Executive Director of COTVET , indicated that the Fund supported initiative that sought to address the needs of continuous skills upgrading pre-employment training , technology acquisition and innovation, and market -oriented research and development.

Dr Baffour- Awuah urged the grantees to use the grants judiciously as they would be closely monitored. He also assured that the funds would be fairly disbursed.

The grantees assured that they would use the funds prudently as spelt out in the grant document.