Sunyani: The 2026 Ghana Youth Agriculture Summit, an agri-business conference, has opened in Sunyani with a call on the youth to leverage opportunities and engage in agri-businesses to enhance their livelihoods.
According to Ghana News Agency, Agricwealth Ghana, a youth-focused, impact-driven agriculture organization, is organizing the day's conference on the theme: 'Youth, agribusiness and economic transformation'. The summit is being attended by policymakers, youth, entrepreneurs, agribusiness professionals, development partners, educators, and other stakeholders in the agri-business value chain.
The Reverend Evans Kyere-Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer of Agriimpact Ghana Limited and convener of Agricwealth Ghana, noted the nation's agriculture sector had huge prospects that could transform the livelihoods of the youth. Speaking at the opening session of the summit, underway at the Nsiah Gyabaah Auditorium of the Sunyani Technical University, he said the youth ought to be encouraged to drive agriculture production in the country.
He further explained that the summit aimed at awakening the possibilities and changing the mindset of the public about agriculture, driving innovations, and helping to unearth potential in the agriculture sector for job creation and poverty reduction. Rev Kyere-Mensah emphasized the need to bridge the gap between farmers and young agripreneurs to boost investments in the sector.
Rev Kyere-Mensah also highlighted the importance of empowering the youth to take advantage of numerous opportunities in the agriculture sector, engage in agri-businesses, and thereby improve their socio-economic livelihoods. 'We seek to provide a strategic platform for engagement and stakeholder networking', he stated, adding: 'Agriculture is all about national growth, food security, poverty reduction, and job creation'.
He advised the unemployed youth to channel their energy into agribusinesses, stating that there are massive employment and income generation opportunities in the agriculture sector. Earlier, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Rev. Kyere-Mensah expressed concern that the rising youth unemployment situation in the country now threatened national security, with about 25 percent of the youth between 15 years and 35 years idling.
He called on the government to do more to make the agriculture sector appealing to the youth, emphasizing the need to position the agriculture sector for wealth creation, poverty reduction, and business opportunity ventures to attract the younger population.