Two sign pact on agric scheme for youth

Two institutions have signed an agreement  to make agriculture an attractive business, particularly for the youth.

The initiative is to help boost and sustain agriculture and deal with unemployment in Africa.

The institutions, the Organisation for Africa Development (OAD), a non-governmental organisation, and the All-African Students Union (AASU) have, consequently, initiated a programme to facilitate the delivery of the agreement.

The programme, “FOOD GOALS”, will help identify, acknowledge and reward agricultural research and innovation in each African country every year and subsequently reward the best agricultural researcher and best African farmer biennially.

The agreement

Under the agreement, the OAD is expected to provide the blueprint for the implementation of the FOOD GOALS programme.

The organisation is also expected to coordinate fundraising for the implementation of the programme.

On the other hand, the AASU is expected to collaborate with stakeholders to organise youth sensitisation programmes on the lucrativeness of agriculture and showcase innovations of emerging young agricultural entrepreneurs.

The agreement enjoins the AASU to represent the student wing in the implementation of the programme and recruit members of the association across Africa as volunteers in implementing the programme.

The union is again expected to facilitate the formation of student clubs on the various campuses across Africa to promote agriculture as a lucrative and sustainable venture for Africa’s development.

Signing the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the AASU in Accra yesterday, its General Secretary and Head of Mission, Mr Peter Kwesi Kodiak, said the union was hopeful that combining the competencies of the two institutions would provide the needed synergy to expand access to and interest in agriculture among the youth in particular.

He said the agreement was a demonstration of the commitment by both institutions to collaborate to enhance Africa’s development through agriculture.

Agriculture is lucrative

The founder and donor member of the OAD, Mr Bonaventure Aguissi, said it was not acceptable that Africa was the richest in terms of natural resources but the poorest economically.

“Therefore, stakeholders had to put all hands on deck to maximise the rich natural resources of the continent to accelerate its development,” he said.

He appealed to the youth to consider agriculture as a lucrative and sustainable venture to deal with the canker of unemployment, while helping to develop the continent and its respective nations.

Mr Aguissi said the collaboration would provide the opportunity to project the potential and benefits of agriculture as a viable venture, particularly for the youth.