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September 17, 2018At the end of August this year, 91,871 graduates from tertiary institutions across the country would complete their mandatory national service. According to a recent report by the Statistics Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, only 10 percent of these graduates are likely to find jobs after a year. The graduate unemployment challenge is a ticking time bomb that must require an urgent solution. Thousands of jobs must be created each year to absorb the over 60,000 graduates churned out of tertiary institutions every year. Farming is not attractive for many young people in Ghana especially college graduates. According to COCOBOD report, the average age of a cocoa farmer in Ghana is 51 years as of 2015 for a country with a youthful population. The high-risk nature of the sector, limited funding opportunities, over-reliance on the rain and the use of rudimentary tools among many other reasons does not make farming “cool” and profitable for young people. To encourage graduates into agriculture, Ho Node Hub collaborated with the National Service Personnel Association in the Volta Region organized “so you want to farm” event on Friday, August 2, 2018. The event created a platform for college graduates and other young farmers to engage directly with successful farmers, agronomics, investors, lecturers, and Agriculture technology experts in the Ho municipality, on everything they need to know before venturing into farming. In all, sixty-four (64) people attended the event.
Insights for first-time farmers The speakers who led the dialogue include: Mr. Alfonse Somi of Access Bank, Ho; Mr Alfred Adjabeng, CEO School farms Ghana, Dr. Kenneth Nyalemegbe, Evangelical Presbyterian University College, (EPUC) Ho; Mr. Joseph Abanga of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Extension Office, Adaklu District; Lawrence Babatunde of IAAS, KNUST and Mr. Heneku Daniel Ofosu, CEO of Natures Valley Farms. Dr. Kenneth Nyalemegbe kick-started the session with a detailed explanation of the farming process. He admonished first-time farmers to do a detailed analysis and consider factors such as the ecological zones, availability of irrigation, input/output analysis of the crops they select to ensure success.
Daniel Ofosu Henaku, CEO of Natures Valley Farms used his journey into farming to encourage graduates to seriously consider agriculture as a viable venture. He touched on the challenges of land acquisition and advised farmers to do due diligence to identify the rightful owners of the farming land. This would avoid future frustrations especially when the farm is successful. Mr. Joseph Abanga, of the Department of Food and Agriculture, Adaklu District explained how his department helps young farmers. He explained the various government programs on agriculture and how farmers could take advantage of them
Mr. Somi Alphonse of Access Bank in his presentation counseled the young farmers to undertake research and seek relevant knowledge before venturing into agriculture. He advised farmers to keep accurate records and also be innovative by engaging in vertical integration into their selected crop’s value chain. The participants had the opportunity to engage the speakers for over an hour, posing several questions to them. According to the participants, most of the misconceptions and half-truths they had about farming were addressed.
Inspirational spark A testimonial shared by Richard Akpagana, a young farmer from the Adaklu District on how he paid his college fees with profits from his farm was the highlight of the event. His success story inspired many of the participants who had doubts about the prospects of farming. Richard Akpagana The first edition of “so you want to farm” was impactful. The event has ignited the farming interest among the participants. Many of them now regard farming as available employment opportunity instead of moving to the cities in search of non-existent jobs. Also, the insights shared during the event would equip the participants with the right mindset and tools needed to be successful farmers.
What next? Ho Node Hub will build on this event and launch an initiative that would connect the young farmers to all relevant stakeholders in the community. The aim is to facilitate the provision of support services such as land, subsidized seeds, agrochemicals and other inputs young farmers need to expand their farms and create more sustainable jobs. “So you want to farm” is Ho Node’s contribution to sustainable development goal two, which seeks to promote sustainable agriculture, end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition.
