Contrary to the general notion that the youth (graduates) are not interested in agriculture, Professor Dr. David Millar says large scale farmers have not created enough opportunities for many interested youth to enter the sector.
The Vice-Chancellor of Millar Institute for Trans-disciplinary and Development Studies has therefore challenged large scale farmers to create job opportunities in their businesses for graduates, to help solve the country’s unemployment problem.
He stressed that there were some youth who are willing to enter the agricultural sector but were still unemployed because opportunities had not been created for them.
“I have colleagues here who are also in rather larger scale of farming who can take 5 to 10 graduates, mentor them. In fact make it a business, make them shareholders – they get paid for their services as you pay yourself -, share the benefits and the losses, mentor them over time and they can grow out to start as a special type or outgrow of commercial farmers of bigger infrastructure”.
“Let’s create an opportunity to engage these youth and let themselves make the noise that there is no employment”, Prof Millar stated.
Professor David Millar, said this in his closing remarks as chairman for the official launch of the Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme (GASIP) in Accra.
Citing a situation in which he has engaged a young graduate (non-agriculturalist) to manage his farm, Prof Millar opined that there were some youth who were willing to understudy large scale farmers but were stranded since such opportunities are not available.
The Chairman of Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) added that with such a mentorship opportunity for young graduates, there would be hope for the agric business sector and the country.
He further stressed that policies and initiatives for the agricultural sector should be made with the mindset that agriculture is an already existing business venture that held huge potential for the country and not a yet-to-be-created business avenue.
On the GASIP initiative, Prof Millar entreated the project coordinators to emphasize on irrigation to maximize the productivity of farmers, especially during the dry season.
Government has launched an agricultural initiative aimed at enhancing the country’s agric sector and ensuring food security.
The Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Program (GASIP), launched in Accra, is a six-year initiative, worth $113 million, being financed by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
In a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Fiifi Kwetey, President John Mahama said government would work hard to modernise agriculture to attract the youth to farming, as it offered a huge opportunity to address the country’s unemployment situation.
Project Coordinator of GASIP, Roy Ayariga, in his presentation on how the initiative works, said the project would benefit about 40,000 farmers across the country and address challenges facing the agricultural sector including bad roads, lack of finance for farmers and poor warehousing facilities.
Ghana Agriculture Sector Investment Programme (GASIP) is a sector wide national framework designed to support agri-business development in Ghana. It is a programme of the Government of Ghana supported by the International Fund for Agric Development (IFAD) and implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
With its sector wide approach, GASIP provides opportunity for all stake holders to review the programme every three years to inform the next phase of activities.
