File photo of a cassava farmer
Country Manager of OCP Ghana Limited, Samuel Oduro-Asare, has encouraged participants of the Fourth Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue (AG-STUD Africa 2021), to go into intensive farming.
He described intensive farming as the ability to maximise yield from a small piece of land space as compared to acquiring wide acres of land for cultivation.
Speaking at the end of the Boot camp, Mr Oduro-Asare said it was always good to start small and expand into commercial levels.
He noted that the agribusiness sector provided lots of opportunity in its value chain and was a way to creating jobs, and called on the youth to venture into agriculture and appreciate small beginnings.
Mr Oduro-Asare asked starters to enter into the venture advisedly with guidance and mentoring to maximise their successes in the business.
He asked them to take advantage of backyard gardening, and work on pieces of lands within their communities, which were easily accessible.
Mr Ahmad Hashemi, the President of Reyco Agricultural Consulting, asked the youth to seek opportunities in the agricultural sector in Ghana and not greener pastures abroad.
Madam Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the Executive Director, Agrihouse Foundation, said the first camp was birthed in 2018 to speak to the need of the youth and encourage them to go into agriculture.
She said this year’s camp housed participants from 16 tertiary institutes from across the country and that the AG-STUD Africa was a five-day agribusiness Boot camp designed by Agrihouse Foundation to support in creating avenues for agricultural students’ socialisation.
Over the years, the Boot camp had trained and mentored about 600 students directly and about 20,000 students indirectly.
Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Member of Parliament for Korle Klotey, and Patron AG-STUD Africa Boot camp, urged the participants to network and leverage their potentials to build the agribusiness sector to impact their generation.
She urged them to use technology and media to promote their businesses, saying: “Build on your strong points and don’t be afraid to surround yourself with those who know more than you do,” she said.
Participants were presented with certificates and their schools given spraying machines and seeds to support their agriculture projects.