Solidaridad encourages youth to pursue careers in agriculture

Solidaridad, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) in the agriculture sector, has embarked on health walk to drum home the need for young people to pursue careers in the agricultural value chain.

The organisation’s staff with their families and friends strolled the streets of East Legon, starting from their office and joined the Boundary Road through the Pawpaw Road and back.

They carried several placards bearing inscriptions such as; “Our farmers are aging,” “Agriculture creates jobs for the youth,” “Access to Land and Capital are Key,” and “Promote youth empowerment in Agriculture.”

The walk was part of activities rolled out to commemorate 50 years of Solidaridad’s existence as an organisation impacting the lives of several people and contributing to national.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview after the walk, the Regional Director for Solidaridad West Africa, Isaac Gyamfi, said there was a need to encourage more young people to venture into agriculture by making them understand profitability of the sector.

He stressed the importance of getting the youth to go into agriculture since it is the backbone of Ghana’s economy and that of other African countries.

“The agriculture sector has serious challenges as many of the farmers are aging while the youth are also not interested in pursuing careers in the sector considered as the food basket of the country,” he stated.

Mr Gyamfi highlighted the need to address those challenges to reposition agriculture as an attractive venture for the youth to pursue their careers for better livelihoods.

“We are projecting that it is possible to make a livelihood out of agriculture,” he said and called for the need to address the financing gap to allow more investment in the sector.

He said Solidaridad was of the firm belief that projecting the business side of agriculture production system through provision and accessibility of improved technologies would enhance productivity.

He called for efficient land reforms and appropriation systems in the country that would allow the youth to have title and access to farmlands for agri-based investment activities.

He also wanted some policy bottlenecks to be addressed to allow for the creation of a vibrant agricultural sector that young people would be interested to pursue.