Foodsectornews.com - Ghana: President Calls for National Re-Orientation On Farming

Ghana: President Calls for National Re-Orientation On Farming

Monday, 18 June 2007

John Agyekum Kufuor, president of Ghana has blamed western education for high unemployment levels in the country, particularly among the younger people that form the majority of country's population, by

educating them in a way that they are considering agriculture, a profession, which is only suitable for rural indigenes.

He, therefore, has called for readjustment of country's psychology & orientation towards agriculture in order to restore dignity & profitability of the sector.

In Ghana's rural areas, most of the workers are in agricultural sector and are either self-employed (farming) or are employed informally. Youth in these regions are attracted towards urban lifestyle & often move to cities to find employment.

This westernization has raised the unemployment levels among youth of Ghana. They are following western education & agriculture is being left behind.

But, Westernization alone can't be blamed for country's poor agricultural performance. In dry season, the farmers are only able to cultivate land under irrigation. Thus, majority of farmers in the country are idle during the period & move to other regions in search of other jobs.

Poverty is highest among the food-crop farmers. Poor food-crop farmers are generally traditional small-scale farmers with around 6 poor farmers out of every 10 small-scale farmers & majority of them being women.

Small-scale farmers use traditional methods & technology & lack skills & inputs like fertilizer & improved seeds, which would increase their production. Due to erosion & shorter fallow duration, soil becomes infertile, creating a long-run threat for farmers' incomes & livelihood.

Also, lack of advanced technology, improper funding & investment by govt. has made country's agriculture an uncertain prospect, which is the key reason for unemployment in the sector.

An analyst at RNCOS commented, "The effectiveness in Ghana's agriculture training can be enhanced. Involvement of rural youth & farmers in curriculum needs to be emphasized. Administrators, policy makers & teachers can't overlook the social & economic interests of rural youth & farmers in agricultural training & education."