Young people in agribusiness have been urged to harness the potential of using their smartphones to research into their field for high productivity.

The Akyempinhene of Juaben, Oheneba Yaw Sarpong Siriboe, who is a National Best Farmer, believes the phones are tools that can be used to create self-employment in the agribusiness sector.

He was speaking at the Youth in Agribusiness Festival in the Ashanti region organized by the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation.

The 2019 National Best Farmer expressed displeasure on the abuse of smartphones by the youth.

Oheneba Yaw Sarpong Siriboe wants young people to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge and skills to succeed in agribusiness.

He also advised graduates to venture in the agricultural sector.

"The agricultural sector has a great potential to offer decent livelihoods to the youth. Young people should be motivated to take up farming and its related business, especially those with tertiary education. I have been farming for the past 22 years and I have made fortunes from it and I'm a living testimony of agriculture. Agriculture is a profit-making business not a non-profit-making business.

"As a youth, you need to equip yourselves with the requisite knowledge on agribusiness on your smartphones. Please take time off social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram and the ultimate TikTok and research into your area of agriculture with your smartphone," he advised.

The Youth in Agribusiness Festival, an initiative by John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, seeks to showcase the outstanding performance of young people within the agribusiness sector.

The Festival provides a platform for young agribusiness practitioners between the ages of 18 to 35 to learn and network for the development of the agricultural value chain.

Convener of the Festival, Jeffrey Agyemang Duah, says, "the initiative was inspired by the need to motivate the youth to accept agriculture and its commercial business viability

Agriculture has gone beyond farming,it's now a business and there's a business within the value chain from production, marketing and transportation

As a foundation, we want to present this opportunity to young people 

We believe that modernizing agriculture starts from young people because they have the ideas and are able to adapt to new concepts."

The three-day festival was on the theme; “Youth in Agribusiness in Ghana; the story so far and the way forward”.

C.E.O of John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, Prof Baffour Agyeman Duah, revealed, "the festival will be organized annually for young agribusiness entrepreneurs.

This part of the vision of the former president who believes strongly that the youth can change the circumstance"

Some agribusiness entrepreneurs who exhibited their wares shared their challenges with LuvBiz.

"Our biggest challenge is getting access to the market especially when you come out with a new product," said entrepreneur Khadija.

Another agribusiness entrepreneur noted "I'm a graduate nurse but  I ventured into the gari-making business due to unemployment.