AGRIBUSINESS AND WEALTH CREATION AND WEALTH CREATION AGRIBUSINESS

As a young girl growing up, I realized very quickly the role agriculture played in ensuring there was food on the table. My Dad, who is very passionate about farming, introduced my siblings and myself to farming at a very young age. I have so many fond memories of our visits to our great-grandparents in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, who were farmers. The walks we would take from the house to the farm and the lovely me we had not just admiring nature, but also parcipang as much as we can in whatever acvity we could find ourselves doing on the farm. Those were proud moments for me because I knew thatthroughtheirefforts,familieswerebeingfed.

Agriculture is a significant contributor to the Ghanaian economy and an important source of employment, with over 40% of all workers engaged in farming. In 2021, the share of value added by the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector to the gross domesc product in Ghana amounted to 19.71%. The sector remains an important source of income for many households hence it remains essenal to the country's sustainable growth and development due to its impact on employment, income generaon and poverty reducon. Many of the primary acvies within the sector include cereal producon, mainly maize, sorghum and rice, vegetable producon and poultry producon. Some other acvies include livestock rearing and fish farming. As a country, our focus has been on producon, with lile aenon devoted to value addion.

The agricultural sector which has been the principal sector for the development of Ghana's economy has since the colonial era undergone many polically-led reforms which have led to marginal growth with low contribuon to agricultural industrialisaon, and perhaps most importantly, no significant impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who form about 70% of food producers in the country. In the early sixes and sevenes, there was the establishment of large-scale state-owned farms which was anchored in the opinion that small-scale farming was difficult to modernise. However, the economic and social benefits of tradional small-scale farming were also recognised, hence the establishment of commodity development boards toenhancetheagriculturalacviesofsmallholder farmers.

The famous 'Operaon Feed Yourself' and Operaon Feed Your Industries' policies, championedbytheAcheampongregime,wereall targeted at increasing producvity for consumpon and industrializaon. During this period the state relied on a system of high direct and indirect taxaon of agricultural commodies, control of agricultural markeng, input supply, and storage, through public administraon with lessparcipaonbytheprivatesector

Structural adjustment programmes as a response to the economic crises of the late 1970s led to massivereformsintheagriculturalsector Policies reduced the role of the state thereby leading to increased privasaon. These policies included theremovalofsubsidies,disbandingofmarkeng boards, support for export crop producon, land tenure administraon reforms to enable foreign direct investments, and the liberalisaon of trade in all sectors Increased private sector involvement led to significant producon growth due to land expansion and the applicaon of modernfarmingpracces.

As a response to the liberalisaon of Ghana's economy coupled with the need for foreign direct investments, within a doctrine of modernisaon of agriculture under private systems, there has been a rise of large-scale commercial farming. The state also facilitated land acquisions for many foreign companies However, many of these companies are engaged in agro-fuel crop producon,whichisnotconsistentwithhistorical foodandcashcropproducon.

The focus on modernizing agriculture especially with our small-scale farmers has seen very lile improvement with minimal output. The Planng for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy introduced was to increase food producon in the country to facilitate the transformaon of Ghana's agriculture. The policy rallied all cizens to grow grain crops and vegetables, encouraging all instuons to set up their own farms to feed the naon, export the surpluses, reduce the excessive food import bill and generate employment for Ghanaians This it hoped to achieve through the introducon of subsidies of inputs such as seed and ferlizer to encourage farmerstouseimprovedseedsandapplyferlizer therebyincreasingoutputonfields.

Despite all these reforms, Ghana sll relies heavily on food imports and has been unable to transformtheagriculturalsectortoserveasatool that creates jobs especially for the youth. Clock is cking…cktockcktock.

Harnessing the opportunies in the agricultural sector should no longer be a thought, neither should it be a conversaon where policians, top business execuves, and the youth gather around to discuss. It has to be our reality; it has to be the wheel we steer towards the path of not just economic growth but also towards liberaon fromGhana'stotaldependencyonfoodimports‒to ensure we do not get labelled as a food insecure naon. The neglect of investment in agricultural research and development connues tobethebaneofthenaon.

Despite a growing youthful populaon in Ghana, the demographics of farmers engaged in small scale/tradional farming are older adults between the ages of 45-70 years. With the ability of the sector to create jobs and reduce poverty, it seems quite baffling the low parcipaon and perceived lack of interest of the youth along the agriculturalvaluechain.

As a young lady studying agriculture, I have always wondered, with all the opportunies available why is there low parcipaon of the youth in agriculture? Is low mechanizaon really the problem, or lack of investment? What about government involvement by increasing funds allocated to Ag-research? Is value-addion through industrializaon not an opportunity that should demand more aenon than it is geng? What about climate-resilience of our crops? Are we ready for the ravaging effects of climate change? Essenally, why do these apparent boleneckslingerthroughthechangingscenesof governance with no proacve steps taken by the key stakeholder, government, that will lead to exponenal growth in the agricultural sector? Or is it just a maer of leadership? Does the government or farmers see the need to create a transformaonal seed industry that is able to sustainably supply the required quanes of good quality seed which with the right applicaon of technology, would lead to increased producvity? What role do the youth play in catapulng the modernizaon and adoponoftechnologyintheAg-sector? in the agricultural sector has created a poor percepon of the sector in the eyes of the youth. It has also limited the potenal of the sector to transform the country's economy. With the growing potenal of the youth, the me is now to direct a shi from agriculture to agribusiness This will provide an essenal pathway to revitalize the Ghanaian agricultural sector and to make it a more aracve and profitableventure.

2. Diversificaon of crops: The diverse weather climate and agro ecology of Ghana makes it suitable for the culvaon of a variety of crops This presents an opportunity for product or crop diversificaon and the exploring of new crops that have high demand both locallyandinternaonally.

3. Access to markets: Ghana has access to regional and internaonal markets, which presents an opportunity for farmers and agribusinesses to expand their customer base and increase their revenue.

There are numerous opportunies in Ghana's agricultural sector available for the applicaon of innovaon.Theseincludethefollowing:

1. Increased demand for agricultural products: Ghana has a growing populaon that requires food, and as a result, there is a need for increased food producontomeetthegrowingdemand. This presents an opportunity for farmers and agribusinesses to increase their produconandsupply.

4. Technology adopon: There is a growing trend of technology adopon in the agricultural sector, which presents an opportunity for farmers to increase their producvity and efficiency using modern technologies.

Unl recently, agriculture was treated as just an acvity of land preparaon and crop harvesng. The growing loss of arable land due to real estate development, depleng natural resources, growing migraon by rural youth to urban areas, negave percepon of the children of farmers towards farmers, and emerging technologies have necessitated the remodelling of agricultural acvies creang an opportunity for agricultural entrepreneurship/agri-preneurship. Agripreneurship has the potenal to generate growth by diversifying income, providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunies especially for the youth. In Ghana, agripreneurship can create sustainability in the agricultural sector by promong innovaon, creang new markets, and encouraging youth parcipaon. By leveraging new technologies, developing sustainable supply chains, and providing support to young entrepreneurs, it is possible to build a more sustainable and profitable agricultural sector that can support economic development and food security in Ghana.

The applicaon of ICT (informaon and communicaon technology) which is a new wave in agriculture can revoluonize the sector thereby increasing youth parcipaon. By taking advantage of the tech savviness of the youth, we can modernize and grow the sector. Some of the ways in which ICT can be used in agriculture include:

1. Precision farming: ICT tools, such as drones, sensors, and GPS, can help farmers collect data on soil condions, moisture levels, and crop growth paerns In this era of climate uncertaines, this informaon can be used to opmize the use of ferlizers, pescides, and water, reducing waste andincreasingyields.

2. Farm management soware: ICT-based farm management soware can help farmers manage their operaons more efficiently, with features such as inventory tracking, crop planning, and record-keeping.

3. Market informaon: ICT tools can provide farmers with up-to-date market informaon, including pricing data and demand forecasts, allowing them to make more informed decisions about what crops to plant and when to sell them.

4. Mobileapps:therearemanymobileapps that can be designed specifically for farmers, providing them with access to a range of services, including weather forecasng, pest management, and markengtools.

5. Online marketplaces: ICT plaorms can connect farmers with buyers, creang markeng opportunies and expanding theircustomerbase.

Overall, the applicaon of ICT can help farmers overcome the challenges of modern agriculture, providing them with informaon and resources they need to succeed in a rapidly changing industry.

Agricultural research is fundamental to enhancing Ghana's agricultural producvity. The sector is plagued with low output on farmer fields which is aributed to total dependence on rainfall as the main source of moisture, poor applicaon of good agronomic pracces, poor adopon to improved technologies such as the planng of hybrids, purchase and planng of quality seeds. Ghana has a Naonal Agricultural Research System (NARS) that covers research instutes, terary educaonal instuons, and other organizaons. Ghana's main agency for agricultural R&D is the Council for Scienfic and Industrial Research (CSIR). The CSIR provides the main research instuonal framework for agricultural technology development and innovaon. Other agricultural research instuons outside of the CSIR also exist including the Cocoa Research Instute of Ghana (CRIG), Biotechnology Nuclear Agricultural Research Instute (BNARI) and the Marine Fisheries Research Division (MFRD). This is complemented by research work in terary educaonalinstuons.

These instuons have over the years released variees across the staple crops produced in the country. They have also created and developed products that are based on consumer preferences Most of these products are developedbasedonobjecvesidenfiedthrough a parcipatory approach of the various stakeholders along the agricultural value. The development of high-yielding and resistant variees has resulted in increased crop producvityandhigherincomeforfarmers.

Despite these efforts by research centres in Ghana, the impact has not been greatly felt due to the low adopon and applicaon of good agronomic pracces, low mechanizaon and poor integraon of innovaon in farming pracces To fully harness the impact of agricultural research in Ghana, there needs to be intenonal efforts by the government to strengthen research instuons by providing them with the necessary resources and funding to carry out research acvies Connued collaborave research between researchers, farmers and other stakeholders needs to be encouraged as we connue to improve extension services in the country. Government policies that incenvize the adopon of research findings can also help to ensure that research findings are put into pracce and have a real impact on the livelihoodsoffarmers.

In conclusion, without key investment from Government and funding opportunies from the private sector as well as the implementaon of transformaonal policies coupled with an established linkage between industry and Agresearch, the involvement of the youth to drive agri-prenuership will be a connuous mirage. Encouraging agri-preneurship thereby improving Ghana's Agribusiness sector would lead to higher incomes and create more jobs. Deliberate focus on developing the agribusiness sector in Ghana will pave the way for economic growth, structural transformaon and improved skills which would inadvertently catalyze economic acvies and connect other major sectors in the Ghanaian economy. The Ag-sector has a greater impact on poverty reducon than other sectors in Ghana's economy and it is crical for rural development, environmentalsustainability,and servesas buffer duringeconomicshocks.

The youth are hungry for success, unfortunately agriculture to them is the path of unending hard work with nothing to show for The story of agriculture has to change. There needs to be an intenonal effort from us all to live the reality of the great opportunies Agriculture has to offer. Themeisnottomorrow,themeisNOW.