The National Youth Authority (NYA) has commemorated the International Youth Day, with the launch of the “Youth Agri-Enterprise Support Programme” to enhance food security in the country.
The programme, a flagship of the NYA, seeks to attract young people into the agriculture value chain.
It is aims at establishing a framework to coordinate strategic interventions to promote youth participation in agriculture.
It would also enable the youth access opportunities in the agri-value chain to provide incentives for young people who have interest in taking up agriculture as a business or a career.
The International Youth Day as well as the launch was organised in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
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It was on the theme:”Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.
Mr. Nelson Owusu Ansah, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of NYA, expressed optimism that the outcome of the deliberations as espoused by the theme would contribute immensely to the reorientation of the youth and spur them on to embrace agriculture as a noble profession.
Mr. Mustafa Ussif, Minister of Youth and Sports, commended the NYA for always championing programmes that sought to develop the Ghanaian youth, saying the theme for the 2021 International Day celebration was timely, adding that food security constituted a fundamental element of growth.
He said the Ghana State of Youth Development Report, pointed to a decline in the agriculture sector, over the last couple of decades.
According to a 2018 Institute of Development Studies (IDS) report, whilst the agriculture sector contributed 30.72 per cent to GDP in 1998, the figure dropped significantly to 20.28 per cent in 2015.
“The same report indicated that agriculture declined from 7.4 per cent in 2008 to a paltry 2.5 per cent in 2015 with respect to economic growth,” it said.
Mr Ussif explained that although the agriculture sector was reported to have employed close to 43 per cent economically active people in Ghana, the sector remained susceptible to exogenous shocks as a result of land changes, crop failures, and unpredictable rainfall patterns among others.
“More specifically, there is a gross aging labour force in the agriculture sector, demonstrating clearly that young Ghanaians are generally not interested in agriculture, a situation which poses a threat to sustainable agriculture and food security,” he said.
The Minister said this was a clear indication that attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2) cannot be met without the meaningful participation of young people.
He called on the youth to begin to view agriculture as a viable economic venture and an option to unemployment and again tasked them to be in charge of agriculture transformation and innovation in the country.
Ms. Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, commended the United Nations for devising the theme and the NYA for creating such a platform to advance the discussions on improving food systems and the role of young people in designing and driving policies that met existing challenges and how it can be resolved.
She mentioned that attaining the SDGs 1,2,3, and 13 required young people to be in the forefront of change and innovate to revolutionize food systems on the continent.
This is because, given the needed space, young people have always proven to be up to the task, possessing the spirit to make things happen.
Ms Koomson urged all to continue to believe in the youth and motivate them to pursue the hopes and aspirations.
Mrs Akosua Manu, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NYA, throwing more light on the Agri-Enterprise Support Programme, further explained that the youth who show interest in the initiative would be supported to use digital technology applications in every aspect of the agriculture value chain.
She said the expected impact is to have 200,000 young people supported to take up agriculture as a career by the year 2026 and also make 50 per cent of youth in the agriculture sector aware of agri-value chain opportunities and innovations by the same year.
100 module farms in 1,000 land farms should be established across the country by the same year and also increase youth participation in agriculture by 500 per cent, Mrs Manu stated.
She urged all stakeholders, especially the youth across the country to reach out to their district assemblies as well as the NYA desks in the Regional Coordination Councils and embrace the initiative.
The Day brought together all stakeholders, policy makers, development partners, advocacy groups in the agri-value chain to discuss key issues and chart a course that would whip up interest among young people and engender sustainable policies.
International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 annually to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and to celebrate the potential of youth as active partners in the global society.
