Three young people have been honored for their sterling performance in an initiative known as Youth Agri-preneurship Development Program (YADIS) being ran in the Sissala East Municipality and Sissala West District of the Upper West Region.
The YADIS Program which was launched in July 2019 is a two-year partnership between AGRA, Nestlé and Sahel Grains to impart basic agronomic practices to the youth whilst sensitising them to take up farming as a business.
The three winners heartily picked their awards at a very short ceremony in Tumu.
GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo reports that Kasim Sakina from Kong was adjudged the Best Female Young Agri-preneur. As a result of the corona virus pandemic, the event was organised with less than 15 people amid high observance of COVID-19 safety protocols with a number of the dignitaries addressing the people from remote locations via video.
Messrs Nagalu Adams (Nagalu Salia Babugu) and Dajan Adams both from Bugubelle were the other top award recipients.
Nagalu was honored for recording a yield of 6.1 metric tonnes per a hectare (MT/ha) whilst Dajan was recognised for harvesting more than 1000 bags of maize.
The Founder and CEO of Sahel Grains, Kwame A. Boateng, underscored the need for young people to venture into farming.
He said: “If you look at the average age of a farmer in Ghana is about 55 years which is very interesting when you compared it to a life expectancy of about 60. It means that we have to make significant changes to the demographic feed of farmers. But that is the past, today we are looking to the future.”
“We are here to look into the future and celebrate the future. And the future is best represented be people like Kasim Sakina. Kasim is a mother, she is a wife, she is a teacher and today, she is the proud recipient of the Best Female Farmer Award under YADIS,” Mr. Boateng observed.
“We know that female farmers like Kasim face daunting challenges, challenges that Kasim faced head-on and we know that this award will not magically wipe away all the challenges farmers like Kasim face but we want females like Kasim to note that they will not face these daunting challenges alone. AGRA, Nestle and Sahel Grains will stand squarely behind them.”
Each of the award winners received a certificate, half a metric ton each of Yara Actyva Fertilizer, a big basket of Nestle products. They will also participate in demonstration fields of new technology crop of high hybrid seeds from pioneer seeds.
Mr. Boateng was equally grateful to those who have shown great support for the project.
The Head of Agricultural Services at Nestlé Central and West Africa, Fatih Ermis, commenting on the triumvirate partnership said, “Nestlé’s partnership with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Sahel Grains is to develop local competencies and true compliance to quality maize standard in line with our responsible sourcing guidelines.”
“It is heartwarming to say that the partnership established in July 2019 is flourishing and developing into a center in agriculture,” Mr Ermis intoned.
He continued that local sourcing of raw material contributes to the development of the agricultural sector as well as local economy. He affirmed that Nestlé West Africa Region believes it has a role to play in empowering the youth with the right capacity and tools to meet procurement specification as well as providing ready market that is required to make agri-busines successful.
The Country Manager of AGRA Ghana, Kofi Biney praised the awardees and indicated that they were really excited to celebrate the efforts of young entrepreneurs who have been working under the YADIS program.
He was thankful to all the partners for joining forces to enhance the activities of young farmers as well as their income. Mr Biney emphasised that AGRA Ghana is dedicated to transforming Africa’s agriculture by supporting smallholders to increase their productivity, income and food security.
The Country Manager of AGRA Ghana intimated that the program has built the capacity of young people to appreciate agriculture as a business adding that going forward, their business skills would be further sharpened in order for them to make the desired impact as agri-preneurs.
Three hundred agri-preneurs have been given a leg up and each of them had in turn reached out to hundred farmers creating the needed multiplier effect. Mr Biney announced that aflatoxins kits would equally been given to aggregators to enhance the quality and safety of the grains that would be produced.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Sissala East, Karim Nanyua, thanked AGRA, Sahel Grains and Nestle for partnering and improving agriculture in the two Sissala enclaves and described the support as “wonderful”.
“I am happy to be part of a ceremony that is making a lot of attempts and efforts for our farmers to see farming as a business and not only to provide food and eat,” the MCE stated.
Mr. Nanyua pledged the support of the Assembly to the partners (AGRA, Sahel Grains and Nestle) in their efforts in reducing unemployment by motivating the youth to see farming as a business.
Two others— Yahaya Tahiru and Adamu Yakubu— were also recognised for their role as nucleus farmers.
A representative of Tumu Kuoro, Mohammed Luriwie Kanton and the Sissala East Municipal Director of Agriculture, Clement S. Kawuribi, were on hand to present the awards to the winners.
Story filed by Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo.
