The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, has cautioned that rising youth unemployment remains one of the gravest threats to Ghana’s future stability and development. Speaking at the opening of a two day Food, Agriculture, Technology and Sustainability Conference at the Ho Technical University on Tuesday, he said the scale of joblessness among young people required urgent national action.
Citing World Bank data, Mr Opoku noted that more than 500,000 young Ghanaians enter the labour market every year, competing for limited job opportunities. Across the continent, he added, Africa produces 12 million new job seekers annually, but only three million secure employment.
“In effect, every year Africa produces nine million unemployed graduates, able, educated and willing youth who cannot find work. This is a serious danger ahead of us,” he said.
The Minister emphasised that agriculture remained Africa’s greatest untapped economic resource. Although the continent holds about 60 percent of the world’s arable land, it utilises less than 10 percent of its agricultural potential, he noted, describing this as a vast opportunity to generate decent and sustainable jobs.
Mr Opoku said the recent decline in food inflation was evidence of President John Mahama’s commitment to revitalising agriculture and placing the sector at the centre of economic transformation. He highlighted the government’s Feed Ghana initiative, designed to ensure that Ghana was able to produce food sufficiently to feed her citizens and to ensure that agriculture was repositioned to be able to ensure incessant supply of raw materials for agro industrial operations.
“We are no longer limiting agriculture to raw production. We are focusing on the entire value chain, processing, manufacturing and agro industrial expansion. This is how we will create jobs, reduce the food import bill and make Ghana’s agriculture globally competitive,” he said.
He announced several interventions to enhance agricultural productivity, including the establishment of a national agricultural research fund, strengthened soil management and testing systems, and improved seed and fertiliser quality assurance aimed at building local capacity and achieving seed independence.
The Minister also stressed the importance of transitioning from rain fed farming to irrigation based production. He said 47 million euros from the European Union was being invested solely in irrigation development, alongside more than GH¢800 million committed to repairing farm roads to ease food transportation and curb price volatility.
Mr Opoku urged young people to embrace agriculture as a viable and profitable career, calling for a collective national effort to support government strategies for food security and job creation. He called for a change in mindset towards farming, encouraging young people to see agriculture as a lucrative career and a source of livelihood.
The maiden conference brought together researchers, academics, policymakers and industry players from Ghana and abroad to discuss innovations and solutions for strengthening food systems and the agricultural value chain. The Food, Agriculture, Technology and Sustainability Conference was held on November 17 and 18 at the G.M Afeti Auditorium at Ho Technical University.
Mr Opoku was appointed Minister of Food and Agriculture in January 2025 following President Mahama’s election victory. He previously served as Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister from 2009 to 2013 and as a ranking member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee in the seventh parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana.
In April 2025, the minister unveiled the Feed Ghana Programme, which is designed to transform the country’s agricultural landscape by tackling challenges including Ghana’s reliance on food imports exceeding $2 billion annually. The programme aims to boost agricultural production to feed Ghanaians, provide raw materials for agro industry and create jobs while ensuring food security and alleviating inflationary pressures on food prices.
The government has emphasised shared responsibility in developing the nation, with the government providing vision and strategies while citizens support these efforts. The minister stressed that if Ghana is able to establish a strong relationship between agriculture and industry, it will create jobs, reduce the food import bill and make Ghana’s agriculture globally competitive.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
