By Francis Owusu-Achampong( FCIB)
I picked the theme of this sub-paragraph from a youthful lady agriculture enthusiast who, at a conference in East Africa, came up with the cliche to make agriculture attractive to the youth.
She bemoaned the idea of using weary, disappointed, wrinkle-faced, hoe and cutlass village people on the cover pages of agriculture- related news magazines, instead of attractive women like her pretty self!
Admittedly, she was not only attractive but eloquent and passionate about promoting the diverse sectors of the agricultural value chain to attract not only investments but also the youth who, regrettably, see various forms of agriculture as drudgery and nothing else!
Flying on the wings of her persuasive arguments, I find it gratifying to note that the letter “A” representing Agriculture, has finally been admitted into the “STEM “abbreviation which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. These must be vigorously promoted as part of our educational reforms.
The inclusion of agriculture alone recognizes the pivotal role the sector plays in our economic and social lives, leveraging on the potentially invaluable outcomes of the STEM system. We can infuse some STEAM into the educational sector while we ensure that we leverage on this to make agricultural pursuits after school worthwhile.
Slogans are catchy but impactful and sustainable results are desired. STEAM must produce tangible outcomes; affecting agriculture and by extension, the food security needs and its impact on the economy.
While not being a core science student myself, I strongly appreciate the role of STEM in irrigation systems, crop cultivation, poultry and a variety of agriculture processing facilities. We must elevate theoretical science knowledge acquired in our educational system and infuse this into the real world of work and living.
Several developmental theories have been propounded and tried in various shapes and forms as the catalyst for economic growth in developing countries.
In Ghana’s case, it appears to be a monumental shame that at this stage of our economic development when we should be aiming at the low hanging fruits that agricultural ventures provide as catalysts for industrialization, we import massive amounts of fresh and tinned tomatoes, among other food items. Ironically, very few appreciate the link between this avoidable practice, hence the lamentation over the unending depreciation of the cedi.
I recall with humiliation, the amazement of the late Col. Ghaddafi during his land trip to Ghana some years back. He could hardly hold his breath about the vast swathes of arable land the country is endowed with and wondered why Ghana could not be the food basket of Africa.
Particularly disturbing for him was how West African youth, including those from Ghana embarked on perilous voyages to reach Europe for jobs. This was at a time when under his leadership, Libya was drawing water from the depths of the desert for irrigation and other agricultural purposes.
The wide gulf between research and industry has been a subject for many studies at the masters and other post graduate programmes at the universities. How we have failed to exploit the abundance of research findings from the various agencies under the esteemed CSIR is difficult to comprehend.
The internationally acclaimed WACCI of the University of Ghana, under the distinguished leadership of Prof. Dankwa and the various arms of the CSIR must be seen to revolutionise food crop production and create a discernible link between academia and industry. This would add spice to academic life while visibly affecting food production and general purchasing power.
The sad reality is that we have a comprehensive knowledge of the myriad of challenges bedevilling the entire agricultural chain. Why we cannot find credible solutions to make agriculture attractive enough for investors and the teeming youth to make careers out of the sector, appears to lie squarely on the doorstep of successive governments which have paid scant attention to the sector.
The lack of political will is borne out of the fear of political financiers losing out on their lucrative food imports businesses. We continue to create employment for the exporting countries and engage in needless demonstrations about the devaluation of the cedi.
We are yet to find any tangible policy to revamp the agricultural sector beyond the allegedly politicised Planting for Food and Jobs which is entering its second phase and riddled with more complaints than the sands beyond the Christianborg Castle.
Ejura, the Afram plains enclave and large swathes of land in the northern part of this country, can respectively be stimulated to produce enough grains for local consumption and exports. Poultry facilities remain are underutilised from maize which is a core ingredient in feed production.
Can we not engage in any credible private sector led initiatives that will unleash the innate attractiveness of the sector to absorb the youth beyond the current rhetoric?
Who foisted such short- term, knee jerk orientation on us to stop us from seeing beyond our noses as far as food security is concerned?
For how long shall we continue to import wheat and other grains from war ravaged Ukraine, and pride ourselves as a beacon of peace in West Africa? Clearly, peace is not the absence of war, if we unwittingly create intense desperation among the youth in the midst of abundant agricultural resources. Peace could be seen to be enduring under conditions where the unfortunate, roaming lunatic can have a full meal from the remnants in a restaurant bin.
Can we continue to sit and complain annually about the devastation caused by the opening of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso when we could use this excess water to irrigate large tracts of land in the northern regions and possibly, provide sources of drinking water for the people?
Blaming scarcity of resources to push such schemes is a lazy approach when we consider the volume of the same resources squandered in slogan laden schemes in the past. The real problem is political will or appropriate leadership. The Operation Feed Yourself scheme under the Acheampong regime did not cost the country arms and legs; yet its success was visible across the nation.
From the scary experiences of the covid era, when some countries refused to export food, favouring local consumption, we should have strategized to be food self- sufficient by now. Instead, we rush to allocate a whopping GHS. 500 million as a cushion for emergency food imports arising from imminent food shortages, caused by climatic changes, fearing upheavals in an election year.
Relinquishing first mover advantages.
As part of my journey into oil palm cultivation, I happened to learn that the Malaysians understudied the techniques of cultivating the crop from Ghana’s Oil Palm Research Institute at Kade, established by the visionary Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
I shed tears when I was taken round the research facility which was envisaged several decades back by a selfless, futuristic leader. The research complex was complete with a modern school for children of the facilities’ workers, including even a special forest planted with special trees to feed the then matches factory at Accra’s North Industrial Area.
It is such a pity that we have surrendered our pioneering roles to the Malaysians who now control a substantial portion of global crude palm oil exports. Now, we are told the Chinese are busy cultivating cocoa, using Ghanaian expertise in their country while we are busy desecrating lands for cocoa production in Ghana and arguing over which government has done the worst damage to the environment through galamsey.
What have we done with our first mover advantages in cocoa and oil palm production when we continue to produce reasonably educated labour force who ironically detests agricultural pursuits?
Unleashing fresh enthusiasm in agriculture
We must unleash the innate attractiveness of the sector to absorb the youth beyond the current rhetoric. The Ministry of Education could help by popularising agricultural achievements in the various schools along the line of the National Science and Mathematics Quiz competition.
The STEAM education is a very laudable scheme, made even more enchanting by a Minister of Education who is so passionate and supportive of the initiative. The problem is the lack of integration into life after school so that beneficiaries of this model could make sustainable careers out of the programme.
We could establish demonstration farms in food crop production, poultry, piggery, rabbitry and other endeavours specific to the resource availability in the various secondary schools and teacher training colleges to whip up enthusiasm among the students even while they are in school and can integrate theory and practice of agricultural ventures.
It is sad to note that the University of Ghana’s agricultural demonstration farms have virtually been forgotten. The various agriculture faculties in the universities could be charged to upscale their expertise to benefit the communities in which they operate. They must be hungry for achievements beyond their research capabilities.
The National Service Scheme can also be restructured with a deliberate objective of increasing food production in various forms.
By a deliberate shift in policy, the Prison Authorities could re-orient their activities to engage in massive agricultural pursuits to instil in inmates a desire to take up agricultural ventures after their discharge. This would be preferable to hardening them with deplorable conditions which make many inmates take revenge on the society after their release from prison.
Proposals to change these institutions into Correctional Centres could be significantly boosted by improved nutrition of the inmates. Specialising in lamentations about inadequate government support for prison inmates should give way to pragmatic innovations for self financing; and there are abundance of such opportunities.
A deliberate and concerted shift in policy and redirection of resources could help improve prison conditions. A conscientization of inmates to take up agricultural ventures can provide credible avenues for rehabilitation after their discharge.
Homowo celebration under threat?
About 50 years ago when I settled in Accra from my holy village of Ejisu Kwamo, most of the city had lush vegetation suitable for farming purposes. Kwashieman, Madina, Sowotuom, Lapaz, Spintex and Dansoman were farmlands where various food items were cultivated. This included maize which is a core component of kenkey production and an indispensable ingredient in the preparation of the exclusive “kpokpoi” meal of the Gas.
Now we are left with the dwindling sizes of kenkey, while even “gobe” is getting out of reach of the average student and worker, as if population growth should necessarily lead to food shortages!
It is amazing to find how Dr. Nkrumah was advised to designate portions of the rocky Bortianor lands as state farms for their incredible fertility. Even now that these lands have been released for residential purposes, it is refreshing to see how backyard gardening flourishes in that otherwise rocky environment.
Regrettably, now we have almost all the lands stretching far afield as Dodowa lost to haphazard single storey urban houses resulting in declining food production.
The average Ga household now can hardly celebrate Homowo with the same frenzy that prevailed in the 1970s and 1980s due to escalating food prices. Compounding the woes of our Ga compatriots has been official corruption which has resulted in foreign fishing fleets depleting fish stock along the beaches and threatening the livelihood of the fisher folk.
Decades back, they used to bask in plenty fish harvests during the main fishing season spanning July- August and September.
My compliments to the fishermen along the Dansoman beach whose generosity in gifting us with fish at the weekends, whenever we assisted in pulling their nets. These occasional gestures contributed to my survival in Accra decades ago.
Our parliamentarians are asking for exclusive use of sirens and the right of way on our roads even as we all grapple with the multiple transportation and other problems. Perhaps it will not be out of place for our Ga friends to also agitate for compensation for their livelihoods made almost extinct from uncontrolled urbanisation and official complicity in depleting fish stocks.
The writer is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a former adjunct Lecturer at the National Banking College, a farmer and the author of “Risk Management in Banking” textbook. Email; [email protected] Tel. 0244 324181
