Wooing the youth into agriculture

Agriculture is the backbone of Ghana’s economy, and this is clearly manifested in its 60% contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is also instructive to state that the sector is the highest employer in the country, employing about 70% of Ghana’s workforce.

In the wake of its enormous contribution to the growth of the country’s economy, agriculture has chiefly been considered as an area for the aged in the society. In extreme cases, many especially the youth have perceived it as activity meant for our rural folks and the illiterates.

In advanced countries like the USA, United Kingdom, Germany and the like, agriculture is seen as a highly lucrative and interesting sector. And many who have ventured into it in these countries have been mainly the elites. It is for the importance of the sector that governments in such countries will do everything humanly possible to protect their farmers and create market for their produce.

In Ghana, agriculture has not been well patronized by the youths. Many of them prefer white-collar jobs to agriculture activities. A multiplicity of factors have accounted for the unwillingness of the Ghanaian youth to go into agriculture. They would stay unemployed and remain at home instead of getting involved in agriculture related businesses.

We must be mindful of the seeming fact that those in agriculture are ageing out, and that when steps are not taken to woo the youth into the sector the country’s desire to increase productivity will hang in the balance in the near future. This is not all; Ghana’s foreign earnings from agriculture products would also dwindle.

Apart from luring the youth into agriculture, it is also vital that farmers have easy access to credit facilities in order to veer into large scale production. This is one area that the NDC government must take a critical look at.

In many instances, the bane of farmers in this country has been how to go into large scale production. Many of them are into subsistence farming, and what has accounted for this is their inability to get enough capital for large scale production.

That is why TODAY sees the government’s assurance to provide incentive packages to woo our youth into agriculture as refreshing and very timely. That assurance came from the Chief Executive of the State, H.E. President John Evans Atta Mills, when a delegation from the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea-nut Association paid a courtesy call on him recently at the Castle, Osu.

Although President Mills at the said meeting did not disclose the nature of the package, he indicted that his government saw it as a duty to encourage the youth into agriculture. According to him, his government will soon roll out a comprehensive package to this effect. This, in the estimation of the President, was to help sustain the production of cash crops like cocoa and shea-nuts, which foreign exchange earnings Ghana’s economy largely depends on.

In effect the President’s assurance was also in line with the need to replace the ageing population in the agriculture and to ensure that a more energetic and vibrant youth take over and sustain the sector.

We at TODAY are very happy at the President’s resolve to get our youth into agriculture. As we keep our fingers crossed and wait for the government to make public its incentive package, we hope that that it will be adequate enough to motivate our youth into agriculture. All that we can say is that Mr President we are waiting.