MASO encourages youth to venture into cocoa farming

As the workforce in the cocoa sub-sub sector ages,(an average age of 55-years), the critical concern has been how to transform cocoa farming and make it more appealing and attractive for the youth to take over.

However, despite the government’s own efforts to lead the charge, one of the programmes that is nurturing the next generation of cocoa farmers is the MASO youth in cocoa programme.

The programme is empowering the youth and making them realize there is a future in the cocoa sub-sector, and is being implemented by a consortium of partners led by Solidaridad.

Introduced in 2016, it has so far trained about 4,300 young men and women in its first two cohorts, while 2,000 more youth are now also undergoing the third cohort.

The five-year programme, is focused on creating employment opportunities for the youth in Ghana’s cocoa communities.

Enoch Gyebi, a young farmer from Sefwi Sui WR

For instance, 26 years old Enoch Gyebi from Sefwi Asawinso, in the Asawinso district of the Western Region – a junior high school graduate – like many rural youths unable to seek higher education due to lack of support, worked as a carpenter, two years ago.

Gyebi said the thoughts of becoming a farmer as a youth, despite living in an area very notable for its agricultural produce, had never crossed his mind until a friend told him about the MASO programme.

Currently, Gyebi – who could barely make ends meet – now owns a five-acre plot of land out of which he has used 3 acres to plant cocoa and hopes to become a celebrated ‘professional cocoa farmer’ someday, employing a lot of youths also as farmhands.

Similarly, Mawuse Hotor, a 26-year old senior high school (SHS) graduate from Akome Gbota, in the Ho West district of

the Volta Region, has found out that unlike her parents – who went into farming not too long ago – she could

become a professional cocoa farmer.

Having been into cocoa farming for two years, Mawuse now owns a two and half acre plot of cocoa farm, and says the MASO programme has opened a brighter opportunity for her to succeed as a young woman from a deprived rural area.

Adu Prince Konadu, who is now 24-years old and a SHS graduate was a pupil-teacher and from Asawinso Achiachen, also in the Asawinso district of the Western Region.

Konadu, unlike his peers, has been a caretaker cocoa farmer and had dreamt of an opportunity to own his own cocoa farm in spite of the reluctance of many other youths to go into cocoa.

He says he had always been motivated knowing how lucrative the cocoa farming is, having learned many things from his parents who are cocoa farmers themselves.

But also like the others, his dream has now materialised and through the MASO programme boasts of a two and half-acre plot of cocoa farm having started some two months ago.

These are just about a few untold stories about some of the current beneficiaries of the programme, which is being implemented in the Western, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Volta and Central Regions.

Suzan Yemidi
Country Representative of Solidaridad in Ghana

The Country Director Representative, Solidaridad Ghana, Suzan-Hermina Yemidi, said “if efforts are not intensified to encourage the youth to have an interest and take up cocoa farming, the future of cocoa production will be in jeopardy.

She added that one of the key consequences of it will be the reduction in foreign exchange earnings.

Ms. Yemidi, at the maiden edition of the MASO youth in cocoa conference, in Kumasi, observed that there is a unique opportunity in the sector for youth economic empowerment – thereby contributing to reduction in youth unemployment.

“Solidaridad aims to be part of the solution by equipping the youth with skills required to enable them successfully operate as confident and informed entrepreneurs within the cocoa value chain.”

Among others, she said the conference was aimed at eliciting government and donor support for youth in cocoa as a contribution towards the long-term sustainability of the sector.

The Executive Director of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of the COCOBOD, Mr. Emmanuel Opoku, acknowledged that cultivating entrepreneurship among the youth has been keen to the current government.

He said the aging cocoa farmers’ cocoa farmers is a threat to the sustainability of the cocoa production and job security of many people who depend on a sustainable cocoa value chain.

To help address the development, he said COCOBOD is implementing some productivity enhancing initiatives.

This has the objective of raising farm productivity from the current average of 450 kilograms per hectare to 1,500 kilograms per hectare.

“Our focus is to solve the low productivity puzzle and lay a firm foundation that will stimulate the youth interest and make cocoa production a target business venture.”

Written by Kizito Cudjoe

Source : Business and Financial Times