Across Ghana, the question of youth unemployment is no longer just a policy concern—it is a national urgency. With an estimated 1.9 million young people classified as Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), the challenge is not only about job scarcity, but also about missed opportunities, underdeveloped skills, and an economy yet to fully harness its most dynamic population group.
Yet, within this challenge lies one of Ghana’s greatest untapped solutions: agriculture. Despite being one of the country’s strongest economic pillars—contributing significantly to GDP, manufacturing, and services—agriculture continues to struggle with a perception problem among young people. It is often seen as labour-intensive, outdated, or a “last resort” rather than a modern, profitable, and innovative career path. The result is a widening gap between a sector full of opportunity and a generation searching for livelihoods.
Despite agriculture’s central role in Ghana’s economy, many young people remain disengaged from the sector due to several structural and perception-based barriers. A major challenge is the lack of practical, hands-on training in modern agriculture, with many exposed only to traditional farming methods that do not reflect agribusiness as a structured, profit-driven enterprise. There is also limited entrepreneurial knowledge, making it difficult for youth to transition from production into value addition, branding, marketing, and scaling agricultural ventures. Poor access to markets and financing further discourages participation, while weak mentorship systems leave many without guidance to navigate the complexities of agribusiness. Perhaps most significantly, agriculture continues to suffer from a negative perception among young people, often seen as physically demanding and economically unattractive. These challenges have contributed to rising unemployment, rural-urban migration, and the underutilisation of Ghana’s agricultural potential. Yet, in the midst of this challenge, agriculture is quietly re-emerging as one of the most viable solutions.
The Youth in Agriculture and Employability Programme (YAEP), an initiative of GrowAfrica For Me (GAFM), is designed to reposition agriculture as a modern, profitable, and innovation-driven career path for young people aged 18 to 35. Based in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, GAFM is a social innovation and enterprise support organisation focused on equipping entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs with the tools to thrive. Through YAEP, it is targeting one of Ghana’s most critical development gaps—youth unemployment in a sector that remains underutilised despite its economic importance. The programme is a one-month intensive, hands-on training that combines modern agricultural practices with entrepreneurship and business development skills. It is designed to transform participants from job seekers into job creators within the agribusiness value chain.
YAEP seeks to reverse this trend by building a structured pathway that takes participants from training to enterprise creation. The first phase focuses on intensive training in key agribusiness areas, including foundation to agribusiness, the agribusiness model canvas, marketing management, production and operations, financial management, human resource management, and risk management. This phase introduces participants to agriculture as a structured business system rather than an informal subsistence activity.
The second phase provides coaching and mentorship, pairing participants with industry experts who offer guidance, technical support, and real-world insights. The third phase focuses on enterprise matching, where participants are exposed to functioning agribusinesses to understand practical operations, challenges, and opportunities along the value chain. The final phase provides start-up support, including advisory services and in-kind assistance to help participants launch their own agribusiness ventures.
The overall objective of YAEP is to empower young people with practical agricultural and entrepreneurial skills that enhance employability and foster self-employment. Specifically, it seeks to build capacity in modern agricultural practices, equip youth with agribusiness and entrepreneurial skills, promote agriculture as a viable and profitable career path, support the development of sustainable agribusiness models, and reduce youth unemployment through enterprise creation.
The anticipated impact of the Youth in Agriculture and Employability Programme (YAEP) is already visible among its participants. For Evelyn Zakaria from Bolga-Soe, the programme represents a doorway into agribusiness independence. Inspired by other young women already thriving in agriculture, she hopes to build a business in agro-processing, particularly in groundnut paste production. For her, YAEP is not just training—it is a pathway to ownership and economic empowerment. Similarly, John Abagna from the Bolgatanga East District sees agriculture as a field of endless opportunity. He believes the practical skills acquired through YAEP will enable him not only to support himself but also to create jobs for others. His ambition reflects a broader shift: young people increasingly viewing agriculture as a platform for employment creation, not dependency.
For the Executive Director of GrowAfrica For Me, Albert Shiebila Mali, the significance of YAEP goes beyond training. He notes that agriculture remains one of Ghana’s strongest economic sectors, contributing significantly to GDP and supporting both manufacturing and services, yet its full potential is still constrained by low youth participation. Citing national statistics, he highlights that about 1.9 million young people in Ghana are currently NEET. YAEP, he explains, is a direct response to this challenge, designed to turn agriculture into a practical solution for youth unemployment.
He emphasises that modern agribusiness success is no longer driven only by production but by business models, innovation, and value chain thinking. As such, participants are introduced to tools like the business model canvas to help them design sustainable enterprises. Beyond training, the programme integrates mentorship, enterprise exposure, and start-up support to ensure long-term impact.
YAEP is supported by key agribusiness partners, including Buju Farms, Yesumde Ghana Limited, ICOUR, and Just Fertilizer. These partners provide technical expertise, industry exposure, and practical learning opportunities for participants. GrowAfrica For Me has also engaged media platforms such as GBC URA Radio in Bolgatanga and Mike FM in Navrongo to promote awareness and encourage youth participation in agriculture.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Prosper Adankai/Contributor