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

Authors: Emmanuel Kwesi Boon; Irene Susana Egyir; Richard Oppong-Boateng; Oleksandra Karintseva; Benedict Anganmwine Dibkuu

Addresses: International Centre for Enterprise and Sustainable Development (ICED), P.O. Box KA16461, 38 Adjirigano Street, East Legon, Airport, Accra, Ghana ' College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, PMB 30, Legon, Ghana ' Department of Irrigation Technology and Innovation, Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), P.O. Box M154, Ministries, Accra, Ghana ' Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration, Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine ' International Centre for Enterprise and Sustainable Development (ICED), Northern Sector Office, P.O. Box 411, Wa, Upper West Region, 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.

Keywords: agriculture; food security; agricultural transformation; rural communities; unemployment; women; young people; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2022.126201

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2022 Vol.21 No.2/3/4, pp.217 - 244

Received: 17 Jul 2021
Accepted: 30 Dec 2021
Published online: 14 Oct 2022 *

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