The Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Limited, Mr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has urged government to redesign national service policy to intentionally deploy thousands of young graduates into agriculture and agribusiness as a strategy to tackle unemployment and reduce Ghana’s dependence on food imports.
Speaking to the The High Street Journal, he said the one-year national service scheme is often treated as a formality, with many personnel reduced to running errands, instead of gaining hands-on industry experience.
“National service should be seen as a buffer zone between graduation and full employment. It is the best opportunity to equip young people with practical skills,” he said.
Mr. Acquaye noted that Ghana spends more than US$1 billion annually on the importation of rice, poultry, and tomatoes, commodities that can be produced locally with the right interventions.
“Imagine if 20,000 to 50,000 service personnel are deployed into these three value chains every year. We would see a sharp decline in imports, improved food security, and job creation for thousands of young people,” he said.
He cited Agri-Impact’s model as proof that this approach works. Through structured training and integration, service personnel at Agri-Impact have successfully managed commercial greenhouses, livestock, and agro-processing facilities. In one instance, three service members cultivated lettuce worth GHS350,000 in just eight months.
Meanwhile, agribusiness experts have long argued that agriculture remains Ghana’s largest employer, yet it is underfunded and under-prioritized compared to other sectors.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), agriculture employs over 30% of the workforce, but youth participation remains low due to perceptions of drudgery, lack of access to finance, and inadequate mechanization.
Mr. Acquaye stressed that national service could reverse this trend by strategically linking young graduates to agribusiness.
“Our universities and training colleges cannot provide all the practical exposure students need. That is why national service must deliberately fill that gap,” he told The High Street Journal.
The Agri-Impact CEO further recommended that government collaborate with the National Service Secretariat (NSS), agribusiness companies, and farmer cooperatives to design deployment schemes tied to national food security priorities.
Such partnerships, he argued, would ensure that service personnel not only gain skills but also directly contribute to national development goals.
“We should stop seeing national service postings as punishment. If we deploy personnel intentionally, we will improve productivity, support import substitution, and create lasting employment,” he emphasized.
In recent years, the NSS has rolled out initiatives like the Youth in Agriculture Program, but analysts say the scale has been too small compared to Ghana’s unemployment crisis.
The World Bank estimates that nearly 12% of Ghana’s youth are unemployed, with over 50% underemployed, figures that highlight the urgency of finding sustainable solutions.
Mr. Acquaye disclosed that Agri-Impact is positioning itself to host 1,000–2,000 national service personnel annually and deploy them across its industry network.
He added that youth interest in agribusiness is growing, citing that more than 1,000 young people applied for internships this year, while over 1,800 applied for drone training in agricultural services.
He urged policymakers to treat national service personnel as assets rather than liabilities. “With the right orientation, training, and mentorship, they will not only learn but also transform Ghana’s agriculture into a competitive, technology-driven industry,” he added.
