Agriwealth Ghana Foundation, based in Kumasi, will hold the maiden edition of its flagship programme dubbed ‘Ghana Youth Agriculture summit’ aimed at empowering the youth to take up food production in the country.
The summit is slated for Saturday 9th April 2022, and is being organised in collaboration with the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (NEIP) under the theme ‘Agriculture – A Solution to Youth Unemployment and Driver for Economic Development’, in the Kumapley Engineering Auditorium at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
Available studies indicate that the majority of labour engaged in agricultural activities in the country are aged 50 years and above. This study further informs the assertion that the role of food production and security of the nation lies in the hands of the nation’s weakest labour force.
It is imperative for the industry actors, policy implementers and nation as a whole to re-strategise and change the narrative in order to ensure the country’s food production and security is taken up by the most productive labour force of the country, which is the youthful population.
Therefore, the agro-entrepreneurial centred summit will seek to sensitise Ghanaian youth on the enormous potentials the agricultural sector presents; especially in the areas of innovation, modernisation and industrialisation.
Another thing the summit will seek to do is to expose the youth to numerous opportunities within the agri-business set up which remain unexploited; and the need for youths to embrace these opportunities to create wealth and employment.
The summit will also be a contact forum for young and early-career graduates to explore the full potentials available within the agricultural value chain.
Besides, the conference will host a network of experienced industry practitioners, experts from academia, research personnel and relevant institutions.
Some of them included Deputy Finance Minister, John Ampontuah Kumah; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) Kofi Ofosu Nkansah; Coordinator National Alternative Employment & Livelihood Programme, Dr. Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor; and CEO KFF Investment, Kwaku Fosu Frimpong.
Others are Farmer & Actor, John Dumelo; President, Ghana-India Trade Advisory Chamber, Dominic Oduro Antwi; Founder Farmertribe, Sepencia Darko; Founder, Treellion Farms & Oasal, Amma Serwaa Frimpong; and General Manager in charge of Small Medium Enterprises, GH Eximbank, Bright Evans Darko.
Some topics to be discussed include: ‘Ghana’s Food Production, A Relay of The Baton from The Aged to The Youth’; ‘Harmonising Academia with Agro-entrepreneurial Operations’; and ‘Climate Change and the Way forward to Sustainable Agriculture’ among others.
The CEO of Agriwealth Ghana Foundation, the host and convenor of this novel agriculture summit who is also the Head Pastor of Good Hope Chapel in Kumasi, Pastor Evans Kyere Mensah, tells Business & Financial Times that he believes in agriculture and is involved in it. He also believes that as a man of God, agriculture is the first work God gave to man.
Pastor Kyere Mensah has the strongest conviction that even nature has a way of supporting anyone who intends to till the ground and create value out of it.
According to him, for this purpose he believes mobilising the youth across the nation for positive action toward bringing decent income, improving their livelihoods will go a long way to enhance their dignity.
This, he emphasised, is driven by the goal of securing their future as well as promoting national cohesion and the development agenda through agriculture (agribusiness) and its value chain.
He is therefore collaborating with some national agencies and relevant bodies to help change the narrative and drive the national conversation to spur positive action – culminating in creating jobs, generating income, and boosting local economy and financial sufficiency.