Tema-Ghana, July 24, GNA – Mr. Prince Ofori-Boateng, the District Director of Agriculture in Ningo-Prampram, has urged the government to consider the District’s youth, who are looking for finance to venture into the agriculture value chain business.
The District Director said that initial funds for people to acquire seedily, obtain land, and put in place everything they need to begin after training have become a major problem for the youth who have expressed the desire to enter the agriculture sector.
He believes there should be a scheme to provide a startup for people interested in entering the agricultural industry.
Mr. Boateng stated that after bringing all stakeholders together on one platform, they negotiated with several financial institutions to assist some of the youth with capital, but unfortunately, they could not meet the demands for collateral.
He stated that bank accounts had been made for them that would need to be operated for a period of time before they could access loans, but if the youth do not have any money, they will be unable to open an account.
“If the government can provide some financing as a starter programme, give it and roll it out to the youth being monitored and supported to be able to use those funds, something small, not so much, that they can build on,” he said.
He reiterated that agriculture being the backbone of the economy, “if significant resources are directed towards agricultural growth, Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will rise. Agriculture accounts for a significant portion of the country’s GDP”.
Mr. Boateng stated that they were losing their fertile grounds for agricultural production; nevertheless, estate developers are taking over the property, changing it to concrete, and building structures, causing peasant farmers to lose their lands, which is a canker.
He claimed that the lands were being exploited for infrastructure construction, which was causing them hardship. Planning should be done in order to reserve land for agricultural production.
Otherwise, “all the lands will be sold out for concrete, and there will be no planting,” he said.
According to Mr. Boateng, sand-winning operations in the district are ruining the fields, which the contractor has refused to recover following their activity.
Mr. Al-Latif Amanor, the District Chief Executive (DCE), he added, has been organizing stakeholder meetings with some of these sand-winning contractors, attempting to negotiate with them to do well in order to reclaim the land and reverse the situation.
