Mr Franklin Owusu-Karikari (2nd left), Director of Business Support and Policy at NEIP, addressing participants at the launch
The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) is supporting an initial batch of 500 youth farmers, processors and agricultural technology (agritech) developers across the country to deploy technology as well as other innovative ways to engage in smart farming.
According to the NEIP, the support will also train the youth in modern agriculture and help them generate appreciable incomes to meet their personal and business needs through farming as a commercial business venture.
The programme, dubbed ‘The Youth in Innovative Agriculture (YIIA)’, is expected to replace the aging population in farming, as it trains the next generation of young and smart farmers to ensure agricultural productivity and food security.
The project, which is being funded from the GH¢100 billion Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) ‘Obaatan pa’ programme of the Ministry of Finance, is targeted at players in vegetable, maize, poultry, livestock, yam and cassava farming.
Similarly, the programme will provide support for those into agro-processing and agricultural technology or solutions.
The Ghana CARES programme is a three-year programme to ensure that productive sectors of the economy are supported to spur growth and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
What beneficiaries should expect
Beneficiaries of the programme will receive sums ranging from GH¢20,000 to GH¢200,000 as flexible loan facilities payable within three to five years at an interest rate of 10 per cent per annum.
Application for the programme, which is open to all Ghanaians, started from yesterday, and is expected to remain open till February 5, this year.
Programme launch
The Director of Business Support and Policy at the NEIP, Franklin Owusu-Karikari, who launched the programme on Tuesday, explained that the concept of support for youth in agriculture is necessary because it would help facilitate food and nutrition security in the country.
Mr Owusu-Karikari noted that the programme would help increase productivity in the agricultural sector since it would encourage many young people into the sector.
“Increased productivity in the agricultural sector depends on the youth, who comprise 30 to 40 per cent of Ghana’s active population,” he said.
He added that the programme would help address Ghana’s aging farmer population, stressing that “there is compelling evidence of ageing farmer population in the country which must be addressed to facilitate sustainability in agricultural production”.
Mr Owusu-Karikari, therefore, encouraged all Ghanaians who fall within the target group to apply for the programme, explaining that “applicants would be taken through a month’s training.”
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