Vice President, Her Excellency Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has announced that government will deploy 5,000 graduates in agriculture and veterinary science across the country to support farmers and strengthen the link between research and practice in the agricultural sector.
Speaking at the 2025 Asogli Yam Festival in Ho, the Vice President underscored the central role of agriculture in Ghana’s development agenda, emphasizing that the government is determined to make farming more productive, resilient, and attractive to the youth.
“Government will deploy five thousand graduates in agriculture and veterinary science across the country to assist farmers and bridge the gap between research and practice,” she stated.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang noted that agriculture remains a cornerstone of Ghana’s economy and culture, particularly in regions such as Volta, where yam symbolizes sustenance, renewal, and communal wealth.
“Here in the Volta Region, yam has been a source of sustenance, a symbol of renewal, and a sign of communal wealth. The yam represents the patient farmer, the fertile soil, the blessing of rains, and the strength of tradition,” she said.
The Vice President acknowledged the challenges confronting farmers, including changing rainfall patterns, post-harvest losses, and market instability, and assured that government’s Feed Ghana Programme is addressing these issues through targeted interventions.
She highlighted that significant allocations have been made to agriculture in the 2025 budget, supporting initiatives such as the Vegetable Development Project and Nkoko Nketenkete for poultry and eggs.
The deployment of graduates, she explained, will enhance extension services, introduce modern techniques, and promote innovative solutions to farming challenges.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further emphasized the Volta Region’s agricultural potential, describing it as “ideally positioned to scale up crop production, especially in vegetables, rice, and yam.” She revealed that the region’s underutilized irrigation systems are being rehabilitated to increase productivity under the Feed Ghana Programme.
She also called for stronger farmer cooperatives to enable smallholders to pool resources, reduce costs, and access better markets, while government expands mechanisation, irrigation, and storage facilities to tackle post-harvest losses.
“With green-house technology, irrigation support, and urban and peri-urban farming initiatives, crops can increasingly come from Volta’s fertile valleys rather than foreign imports,” she added.
The Vice President reaffirmed government’s commitment to ensuring that agriculture becomes a viable and dignified livelihood for the next generation, stressing that food security and agricultural transformation remain central to Ghana’s development strategy.