‘Address problem of ageing farmer population’
Award winners of this year’s National Farmers’ Day have called for an urgent solution to the country’s ageing farmer population in order to prevent food insecurity in the near future.
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Making the call at the Fourth National Farmers’ Forum in Accra on Monday, the award-winning farmers said there was the need to entice the youth into farming to address the challenge.
The forum rolled out activities marking the 29th National Farmers Day celebration, which would be climaxed with a grand durbar at Sogakope in the Volta Region on Friday, on the theme: “Reducing post-harvest losses for sustainable food security and nutrition”.
The National Farmers’ Forum, which was instituted in 2010, provides a platform for the sharing of ideas between farmers and policymakers.
A poultry and piggery farmer in Kumasi, Mr Anthony Badiwon, who raised the issue of ageing farmers, said unless the youth were encouraged to go into farming, “we’ll face a crisis in the future”.
He stressed the need to make the teaching of Agricultural Science compulsory in basic and senior high schools as a way of encouraging the youth to go into agriculture.
Mr Badiwon further urged national farmers award winners to commit themselves to the call and encourage the youth to embrace farming.
He also stressed the need for people to desist from tagging farmers as ‘poor farmers’ because “the way you present it makes people want to come in or go out”.
Statistics & government’s response
In the past, agriculture accounted for about 60 per cent of the total national employment force but current statistics alluded to at the forum by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kofi Humado, indicate that that had dropped to 42 per cent.
What is more disturbing is the fact that the job of feeding the nation has been left in the hands of the aged whose number and strength for the occupation keep diminishing, as the youth shy away from what they consider to be an unattractive occupation.
Responding to the issue, Mr Humado said the government was in the process of initiating a ‘Graduate in Agriculture’ programme with the view to encourage young graduates to venture into agriculture.
“So certainly, we are concerned about the ageing farmers and the need to replace them,” he remarked.
Other concerns of farmers
The farmers appealed to the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to make the requirements for accessing loans flexible to enable them to benefit from such financial assistance.
They called on the government to deal decisively with pair trawling by Chinese nationals in the country’s foreign waters.
The farmers also complained about the alleged spillage of oil into the sea in the Western Region, which had hampered their fishing activities.
Fisheries sub-sector
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mr Nayon Bilijo, mentioned the poor handling of fish at sea and the landing beaches, inadequate cold stores and ice-making facilities, and industrial pollution of water bodies as some of the factors causing post-harvest losses in fish production.
He also said the government was addressing the challenges through various initiatives such as the construction of six cold stores at Prampram, Nyanyano, Kormantse, Shama, New Takoradi and Half Assini under a Spanish Protocol.
A Turnkey Fish Processing Plant is also being constructed at Elmina at an estimated cost of $7.48 million through an Indian Exim Bank loan facility.
The Managing Director of the ADB, Mr Steve Kpordzih, said the bank would continue to support the organisation of the National Farmers’ Forum “because of its determination to facilitate and be part of a multi-stakeholder collaboration and co-ordination for improved action towards the development of agriculture in Ghana”.
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