The Ashanti Regional Directorate of National Youth Authority has urged more youth to partake in the “Youth Livelihood Farms” project to ensure food security and the need to create the enabling environment to this effect.
The Directorate disclosed that some young people in selected districts undertook various crop production during this year’s cropping season.
It noted that the results have been positive as young people in Afigya Kwabre North, one of the participating districts in the project, took the opportunity the project offers to cultivate maize during the cropping season at Esaase Nkwanta in the District.
The NYA noted that after a capacity building by the Regional Directorate on modern methods of farming, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, the youth were offered freely farm inputs including seedlings, weedicide, cutlasses, wellington boots, etc. from the Regional Office.
The youth spent days attending to the farms from clearing of the land, cropping, applications of weedicides and fertilizers.
At the beginning of September, the young people, together with a team from the Regional Directorate, harvested a good quantum of corn.
Ashanti Regional Directorate of National Youth Authority said the remaining processes in the agricultural value chain will continue until it gets to the final consumer.
It also noted that the initiative has created employment option for the youth whilst helping to eradicate the negative mindset the youth have about agriculture.
“It is our fervent hope that the fruitfulness of the farms in the other participating districts will further energise the youth to pursue agriculture and agribusinesses as viable livelihood options.” Ashanti Regional Directorate of National Youth Authority stated