“Poor Branding of Agriculture to Blame for Low Interest”

Agriculture has not been well branded and successful agripreneurs have not been well branded in Ghana to attract the youth into patronizing its vast opportunities. This is according to the CEO of The Africa Network of Entrepreneurs, Mr. Ekow Mensah.

Mr. Mensah who made this observation in an interview with Rite news on the sidelines of the Freskan Business Clinic over the weekend noted that most of Ghana’s young people had been brainwashed into the perception that agriculture was a job for the uneducated and non- intellects.

Ghana’s agricultural sector which is claimed to be the backbone of the economy is challenged with the frivolous perception of a disrespected and unattractive sector, a situation Ekow Mensah attributes to most of the country’s youth shying away from the sector.

‘The truth is that with every sector of the economy, there’s a role that branding and perception plays. Agric has not been well branded and in our minds, it’s for the undereducated and illiterates,’ he asserted.

Ekow Mensah who also doubles as the chairman of Ekow Mensah Investments expressed worry that success stories of the nation’s farmers were not being told in a manner that would lure potential agripreneurs into the industry.

“If the stories of Agric people are told in a way that is enticing and then profits and benefits of going into Agric are seen, there is no way people will not go into Agric,” he stressed.

Though branding of agriculture is one of the key steps in drawing an otherwise disinterested generation into the sector, support services ought to be put in place to sustain this interest.

The CEO expressed delight at the fact that the Ghanaian media scape is now promoting agriculture, a situation he bemoaned was not the case few years ago.

There is compelling evidence of ageing farmer population in the country which must be addressed to facilitate sustainability in agriculture production. The average age of a farmer in Ghana is 55 years in a country where life expectancy averages between 55 – 60 years.

By: Michael Oberteye