Many of the country’s jobless youth who thronged Sekondi-Takoradi in search of a means of livelihood following the oil discovery have now turned to farming in the oil city.
Vegetables and maize are the popular crops currently receiving attention from the youth, who are cashing in on the abundant rains in the country's wettest region.
The areas where their activities are centred include Airport, Asakae, Mpatado, Whindow and Adietem.
Other areas are Inchaban, Essipon, Ntankoful, Anaji Namibia, Apowa and Apremdo, where there is constant rain. In separate interviews, many of them acknowledged the positive impact of the business in their lives.
Alfred Atta Baidoo, for instance, said the only challenge confronting the business was the lack of farm inputs and basic machines to improve activities and increase production.
"As for ready market, it is there, but we need support to expand the farms. In fact, our major challenge has been farm inputs; if we get assistance in this direction, we will obviously increase cultivation and improve our lot."
In addition, he said access to land has also been a major challenge because of constant construction activities and development of new structures.
For Mame Kesewa, a mother of three, who hails from Whindow, the farming business is paying better, but also considers access to land as the biggest challenge.
"Usually, we ask land owners to allow us to use their land for cultivation, but unfortunately, when they are ready to develop the said land, they hardly give us any notice, sometimes leading to the destruction of our crops,” she lamented. Yaw Jesse from Asakae, who has been in the business for over a decade, also said farming has been his only source of income for the upkeep of his family.
He claimed to have used proceeds from his maize farm to facilitate the education of his five children over the years.
"The business is lucrative but requires commitment. If you say you want to remain in the central business district to look for a job, you may not get, but the maize business has been helpful. As soon as I plant, I plan the harvesting period and the next planting month."
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