MAKING AGRICULTURE ATTRACTIVE (FEB 19, 2010)

Ghana's economy is largely reliant on agricultural or commodity output for its survival, as about 60 per cent of the population are rural based and their main pre-occupation is farming.
Since independence, the structure of our economy has not changed much, although there has been talk about diversifying it.
The focus of the diversification is on non-traditional exports and tourism products, instead of our reliance on gold, cocoa and timber.
Over the past years, non-traditional exports have raked in more than US$1 billion in revenue per annum. All this has been on the back of the growing need to support the agricultural sector.
It is with this knowledge in mind that the Daily Graphic has taken note of the dwindling number of students offering to study Agriculture in the country’s tertiary institutions, a development which, if not checked, will derail our economic progress.
This was made known by four university lecturers, apparently alarmed at the trend, who claimed that if the trend was not checked, it could have serious repercussions on food security, as reported in the Thursday, February 18, 2010 edition of the Daily Graphic.
In times past, farmers were considered among the top on the social ladder and accorded some dignity. Unfortunately, through a combination of factors, such as the lack of policy direction and support for the sector, as well as the negative perception of farmers as poor people, the sector has become unattractive to especially the youth.
The Daily Graphic is, therefore, not surprised that the current perception about agricultural studies leading the graduate to become a farmer does not motivate parents to encourage their children to pursue further education in Agriculture.
The poor state of agriculture can be attributed to the lack of finance and technology to improve yields and the myriad of problems that hamper farmers from breaking the poverty barrier.
Furthermore, the lack of a ready market for agricultural produce does not encourage increased productivity and motivate the youth to take to the land.
But can a nation do without its farmers? Ghana has been at the receiving end of imports flooding our markets, from chicken thighs, wings and tails to turkey tails. Lately, tomatoes are imported from Burkina Faso, where the rainfall pattern does not encourage increased agricultural productivity.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, joins all well-meaning people in the call for pragmatic steps to stem this trend, as it has the potential to undermine our economic development and perpetuate the country's dependency syndrome.
Beyond the National Farmers Day celebration, which seeks, to some extent, to project the image of farming in the country, we need to set out clear policies to address the numerous challenges confronting the agricultural sector.
The Daily Graphic acknowledges the efforts by the Minister of Food and Agriculture to make the sector more attractive, but the actions must be stepped up to achieve the desired results.
It is only when these young people see an image of farming as a vocation that offers security for the future that both parents and students would want to be associated with the sector.
Indeed, agriculture now is more scientific than it was some few decades ago but, unfortunately, we still have images of the machete and the hoe representing our farmers and that is not attractive enough.
We commend Finatrade Foundation for its continued support for the training of Agriculture students in the country in the hope that this intervention will provide the necessary stimulus for increased Agricultural productivity.