George Boahen Oduro
DEPUTY Minister of Agriculture in charge of Horticulture, George Boahen Oduro, says government is applying a number of measures to tackle the issue of growing ageing farmers population.
Among the measures, he stated, included the introduction of new technologies to reduce farmers’ workload for fewer people to get more done, supply of inputs, redress of stigma around farming and collaborating with professionals to address the challenges in the sector.
Speaking at a media launch of “Agric Machinery and Inputs Fair 2019” in Kumasi, the Deputy Minister said government was also trying to convince young people to see farming as a viable way of life after realizing that the average Ghanaian farmer is 58 years old.
According to him, the country’s food supply will be at risk and become uncertain without a new generation to take on the job of farming when the current generation of experienced farmers retires.
He indicated that the Ministry had so far registered a total of 52,000 young people for the Youth in Agriculture programme after government made farming an appealing career choice, intimating that young people are gradually seeking work in farming, sideling work in the cities.
For him, it is as a result of deliberate government policies making agriculture attractive to the youth that are paying dividend.
He added that the future of farming, and of farmers, will soon be as secure as all expect.
On food, Mr Oduro said the country is now aiming at achieving self-sufficiency after attainment of food security, disclosing that there is an astonishing amount of food in abundance which has boosted people’s purchasing power because of the sheer scale of the availability, accessibility, and affordability of food.
He called on the media to propagate the good news of the abundance of food and concluded that government was finding a way out to store excess foods to prevent them from good bad.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi