The National Service Authority (NSA) has created agribusiness module that will, at the end of the programme, create about 320,000 jobs mostly for the youth.
With seventy percent of the beneficiaries being women and persons with disabilities, the NSS anticipates that the programme will accrue revenue of not less than $200 million annually.
The revenue is estimated to come from 190,000 tons of food that the beneficiaries are going to produce through the programme that will also increase rice, soyabean, tomato production and poultry products. This, per NSA analysis, will cut food import by 10 per cent.
Speaking at a two-day orientation for the second cohorts of the programme at Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa, in the Central Region on Tuesday, this week, The Director-General of NSA, Osei Assibey Antwi said the project was to build the capacities of 46,490 graduate youth to cultivate 20,000 hectors of land and enable jobs for 81,980 youth in agribusiness.
According to him, the programme his outfit had put in place would lead to high food and nutrition security, help in rural and urban economic growth as well as optimise productivity of public and private sector investment and resources.
The initiative adds to young graduates in entrepreneurship, teaching, ICT and other forward-thinking similar programmes.
“These pillars, which serve as the foundation of our strategies, are far more than traditional career pathways; they are the engines of job creation, innovation and national prosperity.
“Ghana’s agricultural sector is brimming with untapped potential and the HAPPY Programme aims to unlock it.
“As newly posted National Service Personnel, some of you will find yourselves working on arable lands in rural and peri-urban areas. This is not just farming – it is nation-building. Cultivating these lands will boost food security, create jobs, and drive economic growth,” he said.
Mr Osei Assibey Antwi appealed to the Ministry of Local Government to support the programme by releasing the recently deployed District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) equipment for agricultural during the farming seasons.
The tools, he said, were essential for cultivating large-scale arable lands, and their timely release will enable the authority to achieve exponential growth in its agricultural initiatives.
He announced that NSA was collaborating with the Ghana Armed Forces to establish ranches nationwide to revolutionise livestock farming.
“These ranches, we hope, will improve cattle production, create new job opportunities, and stabilise Ghana’s meat and dairy industries,” he said.
The Director-General said by forging strong partnerships with the housing and construction sectors and advancing agricultural mechanisation, “we open doors to skills development and business creation.
“We understand the road to entrepreneurship can be daunting, so we build robust support systems. These include mentorship programmes, access to funding and collaboration with private-sector players,” he said.
The Project Lead, Gabriel Osei Jnr, estimated that it could save Ghana at least $2 billion a year from the importation of targeted food crops.
He expressed optimism that the project has the potential of cutting down graduate unemployment by half.
About 500 young graduates who gathered at the event are expected to be dispatched to the various parts of the country, including Sekyere Kumawu, and would be guided by experts from Agri-Impact Limited, a leading agriculture business firm, for action.
The programme, codenamed “HAPPY” (Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth) is being implemented by eight implementing partners – Newage, Agric Solutions, National Service Authority (NSA), Ghana Cares, Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Technoserve, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Jobberman.
