A strategic partnership between the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Mastercard Foundation is advancing a youth-centred reform agenda to transform Ghana’s agricultural sector through innovation, skills development and entrepreneurship.
The initiative, implemented under the Accelerating Change Through Innovation in Agricultural TVET (ACTIVATE) Project, is to align the country’s overall agricultural and employment policy objectives.
More specifically, the need to equip young people with practical skills and access to financing to drive value addition and productivity across the agri-food chain.
Speaking at the Youth Agri-Innovation Challenge in Accra, Timothy Akanpabadai, Agricultural Project Officer at WUSC, said youth must be at the centre of Ghana’s response to growing challenges in food production, post-harvest losses, and market access.
“This challenge is to ignite and push the young people to think outside the box. The youth must get involved and do Agric in a different way for transformation. I call on young people to take up their expertise and begin to appreciate Agric as a business”
Ghana’s grain industry is currently facing a glut of over 100,000 metric tonnes of unsold maize and rice a development that highlights the urgent need for a coordinated approach that integrates youth-led innovation into national agricultural policy.
Also speaking at the event, Marcel Koomson, Senior Manager at Challenges Group, stressed hat the ACTIVATE Project is working to build strong linkages between agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and the private sector to create a policy framework that fosters youth inclusion and business growth.
“We know what the youth unemployment situation is in the country. So we are trying to get more young people in the Agric value chain. There are a lot of young people with creative ideas in supporting farmers through smart storage systems, innovative organic products to value addition. This is the first and it’s more of a pilot but we want to grow it to help young people to create meaningful employment”, Mr. Koomson explained.
The Youth Agri-Innovation Challenge, themed “Youth at the Frontlines of Agricultural Transformation,” featured 16 young innovators showcasing business solutions ranging from climate-smart farming technologies to value-added food processing.
Winners from the zonal pitch sessions will advance to a national competition, where they will compete for funding, mentorship and partnership opportunities.
The Challenge is to highlight a growing shift toward policy-backed agricultural transformation, where young people are not only beneficiaries but central actors driving innovation, job creation and food security.
Through this collaboration, WUSC and the Mastercard Foundation commit to advancing inclusive growth and youth empowerment in Ghana’s agricultural sector to make innovation and entrepreneurship as key levers of the sector’s transformation.
