Ghana needs more young farmers, but does climate change put them off? 

07-03-2025

Ghana needs more young farmers, but does climate change put them off? 

Ghana has a high youth unemployment rate of up to 13.9%. For those young Ghanaians who do have jobs, more than 50% are underemployed – working in jobs that are low paid or which don’t allow them to use all their skills or education.

The government of Ghana sees agriculture as a sector where young people have an opportunity to be working. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s youth in agriculture policy, and government programmes like planting for food and jobs and rearing livestock for food and jobs are trying to attract young people to agriculture.

Ghanaian farmers are 55 years old on average, and there are worries about who is going to do the job in future.

I research young people’s participation in agriculture and how farmer-led innovations can strengthen farming and food systems in the face of climate change.

My earlier research into what influences young people to farm (or not) shows that they still see farming as a job for impoverished people that requires limited skills and mainly involves drudgery. In other words, unattractive as a way to make a living.

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GNBCC | News