Agriculture remains at the heart of economic development, not just in Ghana, but globally. The Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited and Convener of the Agriculture Youth Summit 2024 Evans Kyere Mensah spoke on the urgent need to focus on agriculture.
He emphasized that the growing food shortages and hunger across the globe, especially in Africa, underscore the importance of building a robust agricultural sector.
“Agric has become the mainstay of the economy, and then also if we look at the world around us today, food has become the biggest need of man.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
He cited the staggering statistic that 640 million people on the continent go to bed without food every night. This, he argued, is a clear indication of why agriculture needs to be prioritized.
“In the next years ahead of us, there’s going be a food crisis. Even now we are experiencing some shortages of food across the globe.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
Inspiring Young People to Take Action
At the core of Mr. Mensah’s initiative is mobilizing and empowering young people to embrace agriculture as a solution to the food crisis and youth unemployment.
He discussed how he was inspired to establish the Ghana Youth Agriculture Summit after realizing the vast opportunities in agribusiness.
“If these people who are doing nothing… get on the street to actually, you know, use their strength to do evil things, you can imagine what will happen. In the same manner, I am doing the opposite. I’m trying to get all these people to do the right thing.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
Mr. Mensah acknowledged that young people often have misplaced priorities or limited visions of what they can achieve. His role, therefore, is to help them “see the value” in agriculture.
“You need a very strong leadership and inspiration to be able to mobilize people like that. And then also, open their eyes… to see the value.”
Training, Mobilization, and Support
The Agriculture Youth Summit isn’t just a call to action; it’s also a practical effort to provide young people with the training and resources they need to succeed in agribusiness. Mr. Mensah outlined a three-pronged approach; mobilize, train, and support.
Through this initiative, over 10,000 youths have been mobilized, and 800 have been trained.
“We transition them from the training to actually get into the field and working their hands with it, and then making income out of it and becoming better off.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
Mr. Mensah proudly shared some of the success stories from the summit. One such story involved a 19-year-old who, after attending the summit, ventured into cassava farming.
“He did one-acre cassava farm. And then he harvested the cassava, we got market for him, he made money, and now he’s doing three acres.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
Another remarkable example was a woman who attended the summit, went into vegetable farming and has now reinvested her profits to expand her business.
Other participants have diversified into maize farming, processing the maize into corn chips, and selling them to earn additional income.
Creating Sustainable Jobs
The broader goal of Mensah’s initiative is to create sustainable jobs in the agricultural value chain. He stressed that agriculture is not limited to farming but includes various entrepreneurial opportunities in sectors like food processing and distribution.
“We are saying that we want to position [agriculture] in such a way that it becomes the gateway for employment for the youth in our country and beyond.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
The Ghana Youth Agriculture Summit 2024
The Agriculture Youth Summit is set to take place at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) auditorium on the 25th of October 2024
The event, which marks the third edition of the summit, will bring together stakeholders from various regions across Ghana. The theme for the summit is “Transforming Agriculture for Sustainable Growth through Innovation: Empowering Youth, Women, and Climate Action.”
“The idea is that we want Ghana and the young people to know that if we can actually see opportunities, we can [seize them].”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
Mr. Mensah believes that by incorporating innovation into agriculture and encouraging climate action, agriculture can become a lucrative field that offers both social and economic benefits for youth and women.
A Call to Action
By mobilizing the youth, training them, and offering post-training support, he hopes to foster an agricultural renaissance that can drive economic growth and provide sustainable livelihoods.
“We believe if we are able to get agriculture at the forefront, and get more people to get involved, and use innovative ways of doing agriculture, we can create jobs and boost sustainable incomes.”
Evans Kyere Mensah Chief Executive Officer of Agric Impact Ghana Limited
As the summit approaches, Mr. Mensah’s message is clear: Agriculture is the future, and now is the time to invest in it for the sake of the economy and the livelihood of millions.
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