The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has announced a five-year initiative to mobilise 20,000 acres of church and community land for youth-led agricultural enterprises, seeking to expand employment opportunities and strengthen food security.
Dubbed “Agenda 20,000 Acres”, the programme was announced by the Moderator of the General Assembly, Rt. Rev. Dr. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, at the Church’s seventh Development and Social Services Consultation at Abokobi. It aims to establish agribusiness hubs that offer young people viable livelihoods and help reduce rural-urban migration.
The Moderator emphasised that entrepreneurship programmes must provide practical support beyond classroom instruction. Young people, he explained, need financing, equipment, mentorship and dependable markets to turn their skills into lasting businesses. The initiative’s performance would therefore be judged by enterprise survival, employment and household income gains.
To support implementation, the Church has approved an entrepreneurship handbook and curriculum, alongside an occupational health, safety and security policy. These documents will guide enterprise training and promote safer conditions for workers, farmers and participating communities.
The programme builds on the work of Presbyterian Agriculture Services. According to the Moderator, its recent interventions include training approximately 12,700 smallholder farmers, providing agricultural inputs to more than 15,000 farmers and connecting about 40,000 farmers to a digital platform offering extension support and market links.
He also acknowledged government assistance, including a tractor and 1,500 bags of fertiliser, and appealed for stronger cooperation on mechanisation, agricultural technology and access
The announcement comes amid renewed calls for religious institutions to invest in agricultural processing. On October 7, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture John Dumelo proposed that churches pool resources to establish factories that add value to farm produce, with potential government support through incentives and market access. His proposal provides a broader context for church participation in commercial agriculture.
For Agenda 20,000 Acres, a central implementation challenge will be translating access to land into profitable production. Clear land-use agreements, suitable crop choices, affordable finance, storage and committed buyers would help give participating businesses a stronger foundation. Linking farms to processing enterprises could also create opportunities beyond cultivation, including packaging, transport and distribution.
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