Farming is rewarding - Ishmael
The lack of enthusiasm on the part of young people to venture into agricultural production has been a source of worry to many people, including the government. This stems from the fact that while a large number of unemployed youth, including university graduates, continue to multiply by the day, there is also the threat of Ghana’s agricultural gains that serve as the backbone of the country’s economy continuously dwindling as the years go by.
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At most of the public forums that sought to address issues about unemployment and the need for university graduates and other school leavers to venture into entrepreneurship, especially agriculture, the most lucrative venture, had been met with some scepticism as the unemployed youth look at it with scorn.
Currently, the National Farmers and Fishermen Awards Winners Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG), under the leadership of Nene Davies Narh Korboe, has intensified its education by enticing more young people to venture into agriculture. This they have done through the numerous training schemes through various sensitisation programmes such as workshops and seminars across the country.
Membership of this group, most of whom were previous award winners at the district, municipal, metropolitan and national levels have equally inspired these young ones to take up farming as employment and because it is lucrative as well.
Best municipal farmer
At the recent National Farmers Day event held at the municipal level in the Yilo Krobo Municipality, one young man, 33-year-old Mr Ishmael Boafo, a graduate of the Evangelical Presbyterian University, was adjudged the Municipal Best Farmer. Mr Boafo got involved in farming in 2006, first as a pastime four years after he had completed senior high school and underwent some Information Technology (IT) training at NIIT.
How it started
He took advantage of a small family land at Somanya and started with mango cultivation and later started intercropping maize and okra on a small scale. He registered with the Yilo Krobo Mango Farmers Association because he was bent on doing it and doing it well. He, therefore, needed to learn from those who had been in the mango production business for quite some time with adequate experience.
He took advantage of the numerous training workshops on pest and disease control, post harvest and handling of fruits organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Trade Hub, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Plant Protection and Regulatory Services among others; these training workshops convinced him that agriculture was the way forward as a career.
Mr Boafo’s determination to invest his energy and time in the farming business earned him the support of his nuclear family who were so impressed with his output and bought into his vision of turning the farm into a model farm one day.
Through hard work, young Boafo is on track and hopes to be crowned as the National Best Farmer in the future. He currently has 68 acres of mango plantation, four acres of maize farm, two acres of vegetable farm (comprising tomatoes, pepper and cucumber), 73 goats, 34 pigs, 80 local fowls, 10 sheep, one tractor and a farmhouse with a registered export company which also undertakes farm management services, land acquisition, exports of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Vision for the future
The young farmer has great expectations and chief among them is seeing his farm being transformed within the shortest possible time into a model farm where new entrants to the noble profession of farming, as well as all farm workers will come and take inspiration from him. In addition, he hopes to set up a Farmer Training Institute.
He also intends to ensure zero losses for mango by-products through the maximum utilisation of mango peels, seeds, fleshy part through effective processing and value addition.
The young enterprising farmer said he took inspiration from Nene Davies Narh Korboe, the 2009 National Best Farmer and he is working hard to become the National Overall Best Farmer in 2018/2019.
Challenges
Despite all these laudable plans, Mr Boafo has not ruled out the challenges that confront him in the discharge of his duties as a budding farmer.
Some of these challenges are post-harvest losses through disease outbreak and poor roads, neighbours not adhering to good agricultural practices, land litigation, unusual weather patterns, petty theft by farm hands and the unavailability of electricity which hinders the processing of fresh farm produce.