Youth advised to engage in farming
A project meant to encourage the youth to undertake agriculture as a lucrative business venture has been launched at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
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Dubbed “Future Farmers Project” the initiative is meant to revive the defunct system of school farms and inculcate into students, the habit of farming while in school.
As part of the project, a school farm competition was launched. It involves 12 selected senior high schools in the Eastern Region that would grow vegetables on an area of at least 50m x 50m in their various schools within a period of six months by the end of which winners would be announced.
The competition is also meant to instil the idea of business management and entrepreneurship, which are part of the assessment criteria for the competing schools.
The schools which include the Aburi Senior High, Manya Krobo Senior High, Nsawam Senior High, Yilo Krobo Senior High and the Ghana International Christian High were supplied with farming tools and equipment to assist them in the exercise.
The project was initiated by Blue Skies Company Limited, producers and exporters of Ghanaian-made fruit juice.
Assessment
The Foundation and Public Relations Officer of Blue Skies, Mr Alistair Djimatey, indicated that the participating schools would be monitored and assessed constantly by a committee made up of representatives from the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, HPW and Blue Skies.
By the end of September 2015, Mr Djimatey stated that the winners would be announced based on the laid down criteria, adding that the schools would benefit immensely from the awards.
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According to him, the next editions would be opened to more schools across the country.
Encroachment
Speaking at the launch, the Founder of Blue Skies, Dr Anthony Pile, bemoaned the rate at which farmlands in the country were been taken over by estate developers indiscriminately, which he noted was gradually affecting agricultural activities and farm produce in the country.
“We are struggling to either grow or buy enough fruits locally for our operations, leading
to the disappointment of our customers,” he stated.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Fiifi Fiavi Franklin Kwetey, said he was engaging the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to put proper polices in place to zone out agriculture areas across the country in order to retrieve lost farmlands.
He advised the youth to see agriculture as a viable venture and encouraged them not to give up in their quest to pursue the profession, adding that “you’ll meet a lot of obstacles on your way. But never give up until you’ve achieved your aims.”