Agricultural Consultant, Ken Addy, has advised young entrepreneurs who wish to venture into agriculture to see the business side of it as very critical.
According to him, most young people who venture into the sector become frustrated and give up too early because they view agriculture as a last resort after struggling in different fields.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show as part of the On-Air Series of the Citi Business Festival, Mr. Addy said agribusiness is a lucrative venture that can create wealth for the country’s teeming unemployed youth.
“First and foremost, don’t just enter agriculture or go into farming for farming sake. You should have a real agenda which should be that, I am going to do business to make money. Once that is established, you look amongst all the production areas available and look out for the best. For instance, we have the short-term products like vegetables which span from a period of six weeks to a maximum of three months for you to harvest. And the interesting thing is that some are harvested over a period of time; I mean you even do it on weekly basis. Some on by-weekly basis as you continue harvesting due to price fluctuation you even gain more,” he said.
He also urged individuals who intend to venture into the sector to seek professional advice.
He explained that pursuing agriculture requires learning some critical lessons to ensure you’re on the right path to agricultural and economic freedom, adding that lack of it is the reason most farmers are poor.
“You know from my work with agro chemicals especially, it might surprise you to know that most of the volumes of the agro input chemicals that come into the system are consumed by these farmers we claim to be poor. It’s an erroneous impression actually. Those who bother to heed to advice will have a better story to tell you. It’s only that they farm on small scale basis, but if they are encouraged to do the right things, this idea that we have may entirely change,” he said.
“You need to add skill. Some blatantly refuse to listen to advice or take advice and that’s what keeps them lingering on in poverty which shouldn’t be the case. Those who have seen the light are doing well,” he noted.
The 2020 edition of the Citi Business Festival has a line-up of radio and TV discussions.
It is featuring virtual business fora that would be live on Citi TV.
This year’s edition of the Citi Business Festival is brought to you by Citi Fm and Absa bank. It is supported by GIPC and Ghana’s comprehensive business news website, citibusinessnews.com.
