Editorial
Engage youth in agriculture for jobs and food security
Encouragement of youth involvement in agriculture can help develop jobs for them and assure food security as farming is one of the sectors that can reduce unemployment in the nation.
It is remarkable that the majority of Ghana’s youth complain about unemployment rather than working in agriculture to support them. Ghana has a large amount of agricultural land.
Farmers have improved their agricultural practices over the years, becoming more independent and some even earning accolades locally, nationally, or even worldwide.
While there is a propensity for young people to go to cities and towns in quest of unattainable greener pastures, when one travels outside of Accra to the hinterlands, one typically finds vast undeveloped arable fields.
Farming offers the young generation the ability to make a difference by producing enough food to feed themselves, their families, and even the country, therefore it is surprising that they are not motivated to take use of this potential.
An illustration of this is the National Service Scheme’s (NSS) investment in a large-scale commercial farming operation at Abotantire in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of the Ashanti Region as part of the Sekyere Kumawu Economic Enclave Project (SKEEP).
The goal is to prepare young people to work in commercial agriculture with a concentration on the production of maize, rice, soy, catfish, tilapia, and poultry.
When the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum visited the place recently with some executives of the NSS they were so impressed with what they saw as the investment has yielded much results to provide food for the National Buffer Stock Company (NABCO) to support the free senior high school (SHS) and school-feeding programmes.
The project is admirable, and the Spectator thinks that if it is adopted by other regions, sustained farming will provide the future generation a great chance to improve food security, reduce starvation, and aid in the agricultural sector’s adaptation to climate change.
The youth need education, technical training, and resources like land and money to contribute to local, national, and global development if they are to view agriculture as a lucrative and exciting career path.
Families and schools can start a backyard garden (as was done in the past during the operation-feed-yourself programme) to grow vegetables like tomatoes, okra, and peppers at home and in schools so that the youth can practise farming until it becomes part of them.
There is a need for alternatives to maintain food security in these challenging economic times because there are few resources and the government is struggling to feed pupils due to the rising number of students attending SHS.
Editorial
Let’s respect the dead
Dear Editor,
Growing up as a young man, I watched how families of deceased persons paid respect to their beloved ones.
Right from the mortuary to the funeral grounds, the mortal remains of the deceased are always handled with respect to honour them.
Most of the time, individuals who visit the mortuary to bring the body of the deceased home were required to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water.
A traditional belief holds that seeing or coming into contact with dead bodies portends a bad omen and may require spiritual cleansing.
However, in recent times, I have seen a number of videos on social media where corpses are handled without care.
In some of these videos, one could see the body of the corpse carried on the shoulders of friends or being made to stand while friends and families touch and take pictures with it.
I find that weird and at the same time disturbing and thinks a lot about the health implications.
According to some health experts, such an act poses a threat to public health as one may not know the cause of the death of the deceased.
Some have predicted that Ghana could face health crisis such as disease transmission as a result of the pathogens present in decomposing bodies, if care was not taken.
As a concerned individual, I share in the view of the health experts.
I believe that if care is not taken, the actions of the youth in handling dead bodies could lead to the spread of diseases.
I, therefore urge the Ghana Health Service to take the issue seriously and address it to avoid any possible future health crisis.
Atom,
Korle-bu
Editorial
Prevent Keta Township from being engulfed by sea
Have you ever dreamed about waking up to discover that everything you own—including your mattress, roof, and all of your memories – has been lost to the sea?
Since the sea has consumed a sizable portion of Keta in the Volta region, the town’s citizens are in a pitiful position. The sooner action is taken to save the town, the better off everyone will be.
The destruction of the Keta by the sea needs to be addressed immediately, or else the township would eventually be submerged under the water.
Our reporter’s visit showed that this once-thriving seaside resort is gradually disappearing. Keta was once a thriving town known for its business, but now some areas are in ruins, with some of the locals looking on in wonder at the destruction caused by the water.
For the residents of Keta, the Atlantic Ocean is no longer a far-off blue horizon. These days, it relentlessly and without invitation circles around their doorsteps, tearing down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and endangering lives.
Many locals have been forced to live with family or friends after the sea destroyed their homes years ago, and other residents find it hard to comprehend that their once-livable habitat is now in ruins.
The problem is that, apart from residences, Keta’s cultural identity being anchored by monuments are gradually disappearing. One remnant of the transatlantic slave trade, the once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, is now more of a ruin than a monument.
Once more, the ancient cinema where generations of children used to laugh at flickering black-and-white pictures is no longer there, as is the Bremen factory from the colonial era.
Among other things, the original police station has vanished, and Queen Street, which was once the town’s busy backbone, is now a flooded hallway clogged with rubble. There is still more work to be done despite previous attempts to address the issue since the town is fighting while the sea is winning.
Although water is life, in this instance, it is ruining people’s homes. The situation is serious since the water is destroying the town’s past as quickly as it is claiming its future, despite nature taking its course.
But as humans, our Creator has endowed us with the intelligence to solve problems. The historic town of Keta is now shrouded in uncertainty as the remains of a once-inhabited township are submerged and engulfed by the approaching seas along its coast.
Therefore, it is more efficient to have everyone working together to find a long-term solution to this terrible issue
