Govt must prioritise youth and women in agriculture – Agrihouse Foundation founder

Stakeholders in Ghana’s agricultural sector are advocating for the government to place greater emphasis on research, funding, and commitment to enhance the sector.

They highlight several challenges, including ineffective collaboration, policy incoherence, weak regulatory compliance, and duplication of efforts across intervention areas.

Speaking on Day 6 of the on-air series of the Citi Business Festival on the topic “Women and Youth in Agric,” Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, founder of Agrihouse Foundation, urged the government to be deliberate about implementing the right interventions to make the sector attractive for youth and women.

“The youth are doing amazingly well now. Everyone is trying to play their role within the sector. I think that more needs to be done in terms of youth empowerment. There should be an academy for youth in agribusiness to drive this agenda.

If you visit most of our agricultural colleges and farm institutes, it is actually sad because the lands that can be used for innovative purposes have been used for real estate,” she stated.

Akosa added, “Agriculture is a balance of theory, practicals, a bit of illiteracy, a bit of education, and that is what makes it very diverse. There are a few missing links. I think the government is doing very well to reach out, but it’s important that we measure the impact of most of the projects and interventions”.

The Citi Business Festival 2024 is powered by 97.3 Citi FM and ChannelOne TV in partnership with Absa Bank and is sponsored by MTN Business, GIRSAL, AMG Fertilizer and Nsano Ltd.