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
Kudos to Ho Teaching Hospital staff, but …
Dear Editor,
If there is any group of professionals that get bad-mouthed the most, then you are referring to nurses and medical doctors assigned to public hospitals across the country.
For this particular letter, I want to sing the praises of this same group of professionals that work at the Ho Teaching Hospital, famously known as Trafalgar.
Despite the work load and the mass casualties received at the emergency ward of the hospital, the welcoming nature of the nurses and the professional touch by the doctors can’t be ignored. My personal experience has got me travelling from my base in Accra to seek medical services from these professionals.
Special mention has to be made of the likes of Precious of the Pharmacy Department, Dr Brandon Banor (a maxillofacial resident) of the Dental unit, male nurse Justice assigned to the female surgical ward. Words cannot really do justice to their affable, professional caring nature. A simple thank you is all that I can say.
In the same vein, I can’t but call out the bad attitude of the auxiliary staff and contractors of the hospital.
Chief among them is some of the contracted bank staff that handle the payment section of the hospital and the patient registration section (those that check the status of the patient as to whether they are fee paying patients or NHIS sponsored).
The attitude at times leaves a bad taste in the mouth. One such occurrence was a night staff of the registration section who had her legs on the office table whilst talking to patients.
The CEO of the hospital needs to shine his torch light on this support sections before they erode the awesome performance of the direct medical staff of the hospital.
Thank you for the space.
Kwesi Manu
Accra
Editorial
Develop policies to address disability concerns
Dear Editor,
AT the beginning of the year, when I went to the bank to deposit money into my uncle’s account, I observed a very sad situation where a man in a wheelchair struggled to navigate his way around the facility.
This is because the structure is disability unfriendly.
As I stood and watched how the man struggled to move his wheelchair, I felt sad and wondered if this is how the life of a disabled person should be. It becomes worse if there is no one to offer help.
In Ghana, People With Disabilities (PWDs) are often treated differently and are often subjected to all forms of discrimination.
Most of these people find themselves in such a situation as a result of unfortunate happenings such as accidents and injuries.
It is, therefore, not appropriate for anyone to discriminate against them. Discrimination against such persons take many forms, including how buildings are constructed.
Most of the public structures are not disability friendly and impede their movement.
As a country, we should consider the PWDs in designing our structures. I also think that there should be a national policy that seeks to address this issue.
I have a strong conviction that when such a policy is developed by the government, people with disabilities would feel appreciated and also promote social inclusivity.
Ray,
Kasoa
