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Ghana’s aging agric population threatens sustenance of sector

Agriculture Ghanas aging agric population threatens sustenance of sector
DEC 5, 2011 LISTEN

Majority of Ghanaian farmers are interested in empowering their children to take up professions other than farming as their future economic activity, says industry watchers.

This is because the country has failed to make agriculture an attractive business activity and a venture to be proud of.

“No farmer is expecting the child to land on the farm because we don't make agric a very good profession for it to be very attractive to the farmers themselves to be able to introduce their children into the practice,” observed Emmanuel Arthur, Executive Director of Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union.

He says to sustain agriculture as a viable economic activity, Ghana should be thinking critically about how to attract the youth to replace the aging farming population.

The concerns are being expressed on the heels of the 27th National Farmers and Fishers Awards Day, where distinguished agriculturists are rewarded and honored across the country.

The country's economy is dominated by agriculture, which employs about 40 percent of the working population. Majority of the people engaged in agriculture are believed to be over 50 years old.

Mr. Arthur says there is the urgent need to reflect on the country's agricultural policies to ascertain its business ideals and attractiveness to the youth, otherwise “we'll get to a point that we'll not be able to produce the food we eat, the cash crop that we export and the country could be in serious crises”.

He believes agricultural policies should be integrated into school curricula and make attractive through the availability of land, access to capital, technical knowledge and equipment for successful ventures.

The Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union has been assessing the environment and social context of its farmers to lend support in community-development programs, including provision of basic amenities, an input credit scheme and child labour interventions.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana

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