Accra, July 19, GNA – The National Youth Authority (NYA) has called on policy makers and agencies responsible for the development of agriculture to initiate and implement policies that would make the sector attractive to the youth.
It also urged the youth to take lead role in government’s effort to mechanise the agriculture sector to boost food production and ensure food security.
Mr Nelson Owusu Ansah, the Chief Executive Officer of the NYA, made the call at the launch of the 2021 International Youth Day (IYD) in Accra on Monday.
It was on the global theme: “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health.”
Mr Ansah noted that the agriculture sector was in dire need of an active work force, which could only be provided by the teeming youth, however, conscious efforts must be made to attract them to the sector.
According to data from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the review of the 2010 National Youth Policy, Ghana’s labour force is quickly aging in the agriculture sector with the average age of a farmer being 55 years with life expectancy of 60 years.
That, Mr Ansah said, was a clear manifestation that the youth were generally not interested in agriculture, which could threaten food security in the nearest future if nothing was done to rope them in to revamp the sector.
He said the theme afforded all the opportunity to reflect, deliberate and raise awareness on how to mechanise the sector to boost production.
“This will go a long way at bolstering government’s One District One Factory and the Planting for Food and Jobs flagship programmes,” the CEO said, and urged policy makers and agencies to ‘professionalise’ the sector to make it more appealing to the youth.
Mr Ansah encouraged the youth to channel their energies into productive ventures to ensure that they became successful.
The United Nations, in 1999, declared August 12 as the International Youth Day to highlight the invaluable contributions of the youth in the cultural, socio-economic and political space to their respective communities.
The Day seeks to promote an increased awareness and recognition of the importance of demographic grouping as critical agents of positive change.
The first IYD was marked on August 12, 2000.
GNA