The National Service Scheme (NSS) is securing 50,000 acres of arable land for agricultural purposes to help promote food security in the country.
This initiative will also ensure a reduction in the importation of maize, rice, soybeans, poultry and fish.
The Acting Executive Director for the National Service Scheme (NSS), Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra, noted that the scheme chose a site at Kumawu due to its nearness to water bodies.
“The project site is bordered by the following rivers: Afram, Ongwan, Sise, Obosom and Sene. This provides the opportunity for the deployment of irrigation systems for all-year farming,” he said.
He said the newly acquired land would complement the already existing farmlands which are already producing foodstuff for the School Feeding Programme, the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the Poultry Industry.
According to Mr Antwi, the initiative would serve as a modern commercial farm enclave for the production of rice, maize, soybean, tomatoes and aquaculture.
He stated that the farm is expected to train 40,000 NSS personnel in Agribusiness and Ag-Adjacent sectors in four years and also create 60,000 direct and indirect jobs for NSS personnel in the agribusiness sector and its value chains.
In a related development, the Executive Director disclosed that the Scheme is devising the Deployment for Employment Initiative to provide competency-based skills training for graduates as they prepare for the job market.
He stated that the initiative, which would be undertaken through partnerships with the private sector, is intended to fill the gap where most graduates fall off after service due to skills needed for the job market either as employees or self-employed.
“The modules under the Deployment for Employment Initiative have been designed for service personnel who may be interested in the NSS Teaching Programme, Youth in Housing and Construction, Accounting Aid Programme, MOTAC Support Programme, Data and Research Project, Youth in Agriculture and IT Solutions Programme,” he hinted.
Joyce Adwoa Animia Ocran, ISD
