Editorial
Create special fund to attract youth into agric
The Paramount Chief and President of the Nsein Traditional Council in the Nzema East Municipality, Awulae Agyefi Kwame 11 has asked the government to create a special fund to attract the youth into agriculture.
He said the special fund should be used as seed money to motivate the youth to go into any branch of agriculture adding “the fund should attract very little interest or no interest but will be paid back for others to also benefit”.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame 11 who was the chairman at the Nzema East Municipal Assembly 37th National Farmers’ Day celebration at Nsein in the Western Region was speaking to The Spectator after the celebration.
He said gone were the days when young men and women went to the farm with hoes and cutlasses to clear the bush before planting.
He said technology had now made inventors to come out with simple agricultural implements which were simpler and faster and could be used to clear farms before planting or sowing.
He said the government must come out and walk the talk about agricultural programmes for the youth to be attracted into the sector because office work was no longer adequate to absorb the many graduates being churned out from the universities and other tertiary institutions all over the country and beyond.
He said the youth wanted to go into agriculture but the motivation was not enough to attract any young boy or girl to go into the sector and the sweet talks from successive governments were not enough to allow the youth go into the sector.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame congratulated past and present governments on maintaining the Farmers’ Day started by late President John Jerry Rawlings who saw it prudent to recognise the contributions of Ghanaian gallant farmers who fed the nation 37 years ago.
He said that though he was a traditional ruler, he believed farming was one of the major solutions to the economic woes of Ghana so he was very serious in farming and would encourage any young man to go into it.
The Paramount Chief said he was ever ready to arrange for land for any individual or group of young men or women who decided to go into agriculture adding “the Agricultural Extension Officers are always available to assist anybody in farming techniques, aquaculture, among others.
From Peter Gbambila, Nsein.
Dear Editor,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wish to use your respected platform to appeal to the Cocobod to make enough cocoa products available and at reduced prices.
It might interest you to know that there are a lot of people like me who hardly take time to refresh ourselves with cocoa products like chocolate and so forth.
It is occasions like this that make us refresh ourselves with chocolate and other cocoa-related products.
Gladly, inflation has dropped significantly and for ordinary citizens like us, purchasing some of these products at reduced prices is the only way we can experience this reduction.
As usual, the market women would rush to buy and sell them at exorbitant prices, forcing a lot of people to stay away from showing love to friends and families.
I, therefore, appeal to the Cocobod to make the chocolates and other products available in large quantities at vantage points to make them accessible to all.
Maxwell Alabi,
Mamprobi
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Homelessness in Ghana, particularly in major cities like Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is a growing crisis driven by severe housing shortages, economic hardship, and rapid urbanisation.
Thousands of people, including children, sleep on the streets, in front of stores, on pavements, or beneath footbridges at the mercy of the weather due to the lack of accessible, safe, and secure housing. Their situation is even worse when it rains since they have nowhere to hide.
In actual fact, housing infrastructure development is far behind the influx of migrants from rural areas to cities like Accra in search of better prospects, which leads to overcrowding and low-grade housing.
Although the homeless feel safe in their temporary shelters on streets and pavements, it is dangerous to their health. When they are sacked, they soon return to the streets again as they have no place of abode, so the situation becomes a cycle of ‘sacking and returning.’
This menace of homelessness comes as a result of poverty, migration, parental neglect, divorce, among others, which is affecting many women and children. In effect, children who should be in school find themselves on the streets, begging for alms.
Some of them pick whatever they can find, such as half-spoiled products from trash dumps, leftovers from the road, or food scraps. This puts their lives in jeopardy every day by exposing them to illnesses, abuse, drug usage, and human trafficking.
The homeless must be empowered with skills development and job creation opportunities such as vocational training to allow them to become economically self-sufficient and move off the streets.
Ghana cannot progress if she fails to address this menace; therefore, the government must find lasting solutions to the problem by investing in the construction of low-cost, affordable housing units, creating rent-to-own schemes to ensure low-income earners can secure shelter.
Additionally, the government should find ways to reduce the influx of people into cities by creating more jobs and investing in infrastructure in rural areas.
There is the urgent need to enhance support for victims of domestic violence and families in distress, which will go a long way to prevent them from becoming homeless, especially women who face barriers to property ownership.
It is necessary to have more shelters, feeding programmess, rehabilitation facilities, and mandatory school reintegration to address this challenge.
Addressing homelessness in Ghana requires a collaborative approach involving government action, private sector investment in low-cost housing, and support from Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure sustainable, long-term solutions.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
News5 days agoCSP Catherine Gagakuma: The Firm, Fair, Fearless Officer in Charge at Awutu Camp Prison
- News6 days ago
Ghana Zambian Relations: President Mahama calls for economic reset and deeper cooperation
- News6 days ago
God has revealed Ghana’s next president, names Wontumi as NPP chairman- Nigel Gaisie
