Aging agric population in Ghana a worry to best cocoa farmer

Ghana's inability to engage more young people in agriculture production to replace the aging farming population is a worry to industry players.

Best cocoa farmer, Opanyin Abraham Kweku Adusei says it is high time young graduates are empowered to venture the agricultural industry.

He says viable agri-business enterprises, run by young people, will help sustain the sector.

Majority of the people engaged in agriculture are believed to be over 50 years old. Young people turn away from farming, often thought to be difficult, time consuming, risky and not very profitable.

Opanyin Adusei's call is for Ghana to think critically about how to attract the youth to replace the aging farming population, especially cocoa production.

“We feel that those who are educated can come to the field, use the knowledge they have acquired and then develop the industry. If it's taken as a business, then definitely the cocoa industry will have a future,” he stated.

Opanyin Adusei, the 2013 National Best Cocoa Farmer, owns over 400acres of cocoa farm. He emerged the global best cocoa farmer at the World Cocoa Conference this year.

He is advocating a review of the country's land tenure system to ease access for the youth going into agribusiness.

“The arable lands are in use but those who want to go into farming would need land and they'd have to fall on the old lands of the old farmers; but the agreement terms are not attractive and do not attract the youth to go into farming,” he observed.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh