Mrs. Juliana Asante-Dartey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Limited, has urged Ghanaian youth to seize opportunities in agribusiness and transform from job seekers into job creators, innovators, and leaders.
She made the call at the Young Agribusiness Professionals (YAPP) Cohort 3 Grande Finale and Awards Night in Accra, a platform that celebrates and equips young professionals completing their national service with Agri-Impact and its partners.The event, themed “Celebrating Excellence & New Beginnings,” brought together stakeholders from agribusiness, finance, and development to honor outstanding service personnel and highlight pathways for youth empowerment in agriculture.
Mrs. Asante-Dartey stressed that youth unemployment remained one of Ghana’s toughest challenges, with more than 300,000 graduates entering the labour market annually, yet fewer than 10 per cent securing jobs within the first year.
“This reality underscores why structured workplace learning initiatives such as YAPP are not just desirable but essential. At Agri-Impact, youth advancement, skills development, and talent management are at the very heart of our mission,” she said.
She noted that over 80 per cent of Agri-Impact’s workforce was under 35, reflecting the company’s belief in young people as drivers of agricultural transformation.
She highlighted Agri-Impact’s Entrepreneurship for Opportunity Actualization (EopAct) programme, a USAID-funded initiative launched in 2016 across five African countries, which successfully transitioned graduate interns and start-up founders into agribusiness professionals.
“Through mentorship and exposure, we saw young people move from job seekers to innovators and value creators. That is the power of structured workplace learning,” she said.
Agri-Impact has also worked with the National Service Authority (NSA) over the last three years to mentor and place more than 200 young professionals in agribusiness roles.
The Deputy CEO explained that YAPP was designed as a flagship mentorship and workplace learning model, preparing interns, national service personnel, and young recruits for the realities of agribusiness careers.
This year’s programme, in partnership with TNS and Jobberman, featured sessions on CV writing, job applications, mock interviews, public speaking, professional grooming, gender and safeguarding, and leveraging AI tools.
“These modules bridge the gap between classroom theory and the demands of today’s workplace, giving participants the confidence to adapt and excel in dynamic agribusiness environments,” she said.
She announced that Agri-Impact had secured approval from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to deliver accredited short courses in collaboration with the Centre for Capacity Building and Innovation.
“This milestone will institutionalize youth capacity building, ensuring structured, sustainable, and accredited training pathways for young people in agribusiness,” she said.
Mrs. Asante-Dartey urged the awardees to view their year of service not as a waiting period, but as an investment in skills, networks, and entrepreneurial ideas.
“You were not here to simply pass time. You were here to gain lifelong skills and networks that will serve you, whether within Agri-Impact, in other organizations, or through ventures of your own,” she emphasized.
She charged the youth to step forward boldly and see agribusiness as a frontier for innovation and leadership.
“The future of African agriculture depends on its youth. The opportunities are vast, but require vision, resilience, and innovation. We need you not only as workers, but as employers, leaders, and trailblazers,” she said.
The evening climaxed with awards to outstanding service personnel whose creativity, commitment, and leadership distinguished them throughout their service year.
By Stanley Senya