The Government of Ghana has established a “YouStart” programme to provide training, skills and financial support to entrepreneurial youth within the ages of 18 to 40 years.
The initiative according H.E Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo Addo will help beneficiaries start, build and grow their businesses.
He believes YouStart will be a motivational vehicle for equipping the youth to venture in agro-based businesses; such as input distribution, marketing and value addition, leveraging on digital technology.
Nana Addo urged MMDAs and faith-based organizations to encourage the youth to take advantage of the programme.
He stressed, “The overwhelming evidence points to an impressive performance of my government in pursuit of its agricultural modernisation and transformation agenda.
“From an average of 3.8% in the 5-year period from 2012 to 2016, average annual growth nearly doubled to 6.3% in the period 2017 to 2021.
“In the most recent years, the sector growth increased strongly from 4.7% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 and 8.4% in 2021; the highest annual performance in the Fourth Republic.”
The first gentlemen of Ghana explained, that sterling performance compares with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s (CAADP) benchmark target of 6% growth of agriculture for the attainment of national food security.
He disclosed, the highest growth rates posted were in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 Pandemic coupled with other negative forces, such as climate change and outbreak of diseases, were impacting the sector.
He assured that, Government will deepen investments in these areas, and build on the achievements through additional interventions.
President hinted, “We will use the opportunity of this crisis to accelerate the agriculture modernisation and transformation agenda.”
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