By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, July 11, GNA–Some 5,000 graduates from Ghana’s agricultural colleges and veterinary schools will soon be employed by the National Service Scheme (NSS) for a period of four years.
They would share their knowledge and expertise with farmer co-operatives on agriculture extension services to improve crop production.
Those graduates have not been employed since 2015 to date.
Mr. Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, who announced this on the floor of Parliament in Accra, said after they had worked with the NSS for four years, they would be migrated onto the government payroll.
This forms part of the government’s interventions to enhance smart agriculture practices and boost the country’s food sufficiency strategy.
The Minister highlighted some of the government policy interventions to boost crop production in the country, including the Feed Ghana programme and establishment of Farmer Service Centres in all the agricultural districts.
Other government measures included irrigation farming, feed the industries programme, crop development programme, school and institutional farming and setting up of national farmer cooperatives.
Mr. Opoku indicated that out of the 1.9 million hectares of arable lands in the country, only six per cent were irrigated for agricultural purposes and underscored the need for paradigm shift to boost crop production.
The Minister said, for instance, under the Farmer Service centres, the government would provide agriculture extension services to farmers, improved seedlings, fertilizer and other farm inputs to boost crop production.
He said, so far, 29,000 farmer cooperatives had been established across the country as of March 2025 and would receive extension services.
Under the School and Institutional Farming, Mr. Opoku said second cycle educational institutions and Prisons would be supported to establish farms to produce vegetables and grains to support the School Feeding programme while the Prisons produce crops to support the prison inmates.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah