The CEO of POFAMG Enterprise and Training Centre in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono region, Obeng Frimpong, has appealed to the government to grant long-term loans to young farmers to expand their farms.

He said that would encourage young farmers to diversify their crops by growing more cashew, pepper, maize and engage in poultry and fish farming to settle the loans they will receive.

Mr Obeng made the appeal at the sideline of a workshop to train seedling growers in cashew grafting at the Wenchi Agricultural Station.

According to him, the government must show commitment towards agricultural funding, especially for young farmers in the country.

“The time has come for the government of the day to step up in supporting the young commercial farmers to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s economic growth,” Mr Obeng suggested.

He mentioned funding, among other things, as the most difficult challenge facing young farmers striving to support the food basket of Ghana, adding, "Even the banks are not ready to support young people who are into agriculture because of the high risks".

Mr Obeng, however, challenged the government to be creative in devising financial support schemes and programmes to boost mechanized commercial farming for the young generation.

“You see, we at POFAMG Enterprise and Training Centre are doing quite well in the production of mushrooms, tree crop seedling growing and general agriculture, but it has been a struggle without any long-term loan.

We could have been doing far better than what pertains now if we had a long-term loan facility for our projects,” he explained.

He further urged the government to institute practicable policies to promote irrigation farming, which will ensure all-year crop production in the country and thereby solve the problem of food security.

"I also call on the government to move away from relying on synthetic agrochemicals for farming and invest more in sustainable cropping such as organic farming," Mr Obeng stressed.

He expressed concern about the indiscriminate bush burning during the dry season that has resulted in bushfires, destroying large quantities of agricultural produce.

Mr Obeng, therefore, appealed to the municipal and district assemblies to provide logistics such as uniforms and Wellington boots to fire volunteers to ensure effective prevention of fire outbreaks as the country is currently experiencing a dry spell.

He stressed the need for farmers to invest in their children's education up to the university level so that they will become responsible adults in the future since education is the key to success in life.