The best way to enjoy my retirement was to employ myself, says retired physician specialist, Dr Frank Bonsu.

Dr. Bonsu has embraced his passion, which is farming and has gone back to his village at Nsuta in the Ashanti Region to set up a modern farm.

The former Manager of the National Tuberculosis Programme wants to inspire the younger generation to take up farming as a career.

The 62-year-old says it took him ten years to plan towards becoming a farmer.

Trained as a physician specialist and public health consultant, Dr Bonsu has worked at all levels of the healthcare delivery system.

“I have worked at all levels of the health care delivery system. I started working in cape cost regional hospital,” he said.

Dr. Bonsu also worked as the Medical Superintended in the Dunkwa Government hospital and left to study his post-graduate programme.

He returned after his studies and posted to then Brong Ahafo regional Hospital as a Public Health specialist, Physician, and consultant.

“I went to the national level to run the National Tuberculosis Programme for many years.” He said.

But Dr. Bonsu says one cannot leave his passion.

“Medicine has always been my dream but once I have fulfilled my dream then, I have to do my passion.”

Though Dr. Bonsu can’t quantify how much he has invested into the business, he can boast of 2000 birds and 300 acres of farmland to cultivate maize to feed the birds.

He makes sales of about 6, 000 a week based on the capacity, and in a month, 24,000 cedis.

But this same money made is used to buy feed especially soybeans run the farm and pay workers.

The poultry farm is 7,000 capacity with a feed mill.

Dr. Bonsu declined a teaching appointment after retiring to focus on his farming business.

He has also refused to take any contract or consultancy. All he wants is to farm.

“If you ask me to work in my previous profession, it will be on my own terms,” he says.

Dr. Bonsu was not raised at Nsuta, but he is reuniting with his natives to mentor them into farming, especially those who are not in school.

Having based in Korle Bu, he thought it was necessary and time to impart the skills acquired over the years to his people.

“The rural folks need somebody to mentor them and I thought I could be such a person, mentor the young ones into farming.”

The retired physician specialist says one doesn’t need big capital to start farming.

But it took him ten years to plan towards establishing his farm.

He says, a journey of thousand miles begins with one step and if one wants to do the right thing, they need to invest properly.

“It took me ten years to plan for it. You need huge capital if you want to do it the way we have done it but you can start small,” he added.

Based on current value, Dr. Bonsu’s farm is worth about $150,000.

“If you don’t have a loan or you don’t start gradually as I did, how can you manage a farm like this,” He asked.

But what is the only issue for Dr. Bonsu?

“Farming in Ghana, you are on your own and I realized that when I came into it.”

Dr. Bonsu is currently in a maintenance phase and hopes to make a profit between 4 and 6 years to recover his investment.

Dr. Frank Bonsu says he has not regretted taking a bold decision to venture into the poultry business. End