The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sahmen Coconut Farm Resort Center, Dr. Samuel Hodor Mensah, has urged young people to start their own coconut plantation businesses in order to become self-sufficient.
He said that coconut farming was a very profitable business that could help young people improve their lives and urged them not to move to cities to fight for better opportunities that didn't exist.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the Centre in Mepom, a community near Adieso in the Upper West Akim District, Dr. Mensah, an optometrist by training but a farmer by heart, made the call.
He stated that youth were the nation's future and that they required assistance in becoming self-sufficient through the acquisition of business skills in order to make meaningful contributions to the improvement of their communities.
According to him, "Coconut, like other cash-economy crops, are not capital-intensive, easy to do, maintenance-free, and long-life source of steady income," and "if done well with hybrid variety, could take care of the education of children and also create employment for many others."
As a result, Dr. Mensah pleaded with chiefs and caretakers to release land in order to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture. He said that coconut farming is a lifelong endeavor that should be taken up by people who want to become farmers.
Dr. Mensah, who is also the best agroprocessor in the Eastern Region and the overall best farmer in Upper West Akim District in 2022, said that he started farming with a coconut plantation on a 162-acre land. Later, he added a 42-acre palm plantation, 20 acres of rice, 43 acres of cassava, and 70 acres of pineapple farms.
He said that the farm currently has 400 pigs, 30 sheep, 300 rabbits, 54 goats, poultry, 10,000 catfish, 5,000 tilapia, grass cutters, and a zoo with monkeys and other animals. It also has a restaurant with a lecture and training room for training in agrobusiness.
Dr. Mensah added that the coconut plantation produced fresh coconut fruits, de-husked dried coconut oils (cold press and hot press), dwarf/hybrid coconut seedlings, and other items.
The Centre offered services in Agricultural Consultancy and Plantation Management, supported and trained small and medium farm managers, and provided business and technical advice with his extensive experience in best farming practices.
Ten temporary employees and 25 permanent employees make up the Center.
He urged farmers to increase the value of their produce in order to join the high-earning zone and push for increased productivity and food security.
Dr. Mensah thanked everyone who helped him in a variety of ways and wished them a happy and prosperous new year.
Source |Ernesteast.blogspot.com