Youth-focused agriculture programme launched
Rethink, an initiative that seeks to change the mindset of the youth towards agriculture and agribusiness, has been launched in Accra.
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Spearheaded by Siriboe Farms Limited, a project of the Office of the 2022 National Best Farmer, the initiative will roll out mentorship sessions for young people to build their capacity on modern technology and best farming practices in the agriculture value chain.
It will also serve as an advocacy platform for the youth in agriculture by engaging policymakers and industry players to implement policies that would empower young people and also facilitate their access to finance.
The initiative was unveiled yesterday where strategic partners — Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), all pledged their commitment to help change the face of agriculture in the country.
Revitalisation of agriculture
The Chief Executive Officer of Siriboe Farms Limited and the 2022 National Best Farmer, Nana Yaw Sarpong Siriboe, said the focus of the initiative was to revitalise the agricultural sector by creating a new generation of young entrepreneurs along the value chain.
He said the farms would, through the Graphic national development dialogue series, work to rally stakeholders to help revitalise the agricultural sector.
"For me, the accolade of the National Best Farmer is a call to action, a call to rethink the essence of agriculture in the country; and that is why we seek to equip the youth with the tools, knowledge and education they need to sustain the legacy and move it to the next level," the CEO added.
He said in the wake of the global climate crisis that was ruining agriculture fortunes across the world, the younger generation could leverage technology to promote soil conservation, biodiversity protection and also curb post-harvest losses.
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Nana Siriboe further said that through the Siriboe institute, a centre for youth employment, more than 5,000 young people had been empowered to participate in various agricultural practices.
Graphic support
The Director of Marketing, GCGL, Franklin Sowa, said as a media organisation that had existed for over 70 years in the country, the company was well aware of the challenges in the agricultural sector.
He said it was for this reason that a national development dialogue series on revamping agriculture was organised by the company in the country last year.
"We know that a hungry man is an angry man, so if citizens are getting hungry because of poor agriculture output, it means they are getting angry; that is the context within which GCGL is supporting this initiative," Mr Sowa added.
He said the company was committed to the initiative because "if agriculture takes its rightful position, unemployment will be addressed".
MoFA vision
For his part, the Director of Agricultural Extension Services at MoFA, Paul Siame, described the initiative as timely, saying that it was aligned with the renewed focus of the ministry to fashion out new approaches to agriculture.
"MoFA has also activated a rethinking process for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme which would be relaunched soon," he said.
Mr Siameh said the rethinking around the PFJ was to address the teething challenges of the programme and embark on more progressive approaches going forward.