Young people and women as key drivers of agricultural transformation in Africa: transiting from rhetoric to action in Ghana

Abstract

The prevalence of hunger, malnutrition and poverty in many African countries like Ghana is mainly due to low agricultural productivity and the sector's inability to attract educated young people and women (YPW). Ghana has not been able to leverage her abundant land and water resources as well as her youthful population to transform her agricultural sector, promote food and nutrition security, and improve the livelihoods of the rural people, especially in the transition and northern savannah ecological zones. Agricultural transformation constitutes the core element of this paper's conceptual framework. The findings of a comprehensive desk research informed the selection and conduct of field surveys in two local communities in two districts in the transition and northern savannah ecological zones of Ghana. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20 while the qualitative information was subjected to content analysis. The opportunities for transforming Ghana's agriculture into a productive sector and a major employer of educated young people and women include smart agricultural practices, widening access to resources, markets and social amenities in rural communities.