The inaugural set of 11 Farmer Service Centres (FSCs) under the Government’s prominent Feed Ghana Programme is projected to be operational by October of this year, as announced by Mr. Peter Nuhu, the Coordinator of the FSC Initiative, on Friday.
These centres, currently under construction in selected agricultural districts, are intended to provide farmers with access to mechanisation services, agricultural inputs, extension support, financial services, market linkages, capacity-building programmes, and climate-smart agricultural solutions.
“We are presently in the construction phase… We anticipate the first batch being ready by October… The President has tasked us with commissioning approximately 11 centres by October,” stated Mr. Nuhu.
He disclosed this information during an interview with the media at the ninth Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp (Ag-Stud Africa Bootcamp 2026) in Accra.
The bootcamp, organised by Agrihouse Foundation and its partners, aimed at gathering ideas from agricultural students on sustaining the Feed Ghana Programme and the FSC Initiative.
This year’s event saw the participation of around 18 agricultural colleges and universities across the 16 regions.
The FSCs represent a flagship agricultural initiative by the Government, implemented through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) as part of the Feed Ghana Initiative. This initiative seeks to enhance farmers’ access to mechanisation, farm inputs, extension services, storage, and market support, particularly benefiting smallholder farmers.
Mr. Nuhu mentioned that the Government has strategically distributed the centres across major food-producing regions of the country, including districts such as Afram Plains, West Gonja, Savelugu, and Ejura, which are expected to benefit from the first phase of implementation.
Furthermore, Mr. Nuhu revealed that over 1.2 million farmers have been registered under the Feed Ghana Programme through community-based commodity cooperatives established nationwide. The cooperative model was adopted to improve accountability, sustainability, and effective service delivery.
“We recognised that operating through cooperatives offers a more sustainable approach. These farmers have been organised into commodity-based groups within their communities and will be among the first to benefit from the centres’ services once operational,” he explained.
Addressing youth participation in agriculture, Mr. Nuhu emphasised the need to attract and retain younger generations in the sector due to the ageing farmer population. He commended the bootcamp organisers, noting that engaging with agricultural college and university students is part of efforts to involve the next generation of agricultural professionals in the Feed Ghana Programme.
“The future of agriculture relies on our ability to attract and empower young people. These students represent the future researchers, extension officers, and agribusiness leaders necessary to advance the sector,” he stated.
Mr. Nuhu announced plans to engage agricultural students as interns to support extension services in farming communities, noting that more than 4,000 national service personnel have already been deployed under rolling contracts through the Feed Ghana Programme to support agricultural extension activities. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between farmers and extension officers.
Ms. Alberta Naa Akyaa Akosa, Team Lead of the Agrihouse Foundation, highlighted that this year’s bootcamp was intentionally redesigned to help agricultural students gain a better understanding of the Government’s Feed Ghana Programme and the FSCs Initiative, while providing a platform for them to offer recommendations to policymakers.
She noted that participants from agricultural colleges, farming institutes, and universities across all 16 regions conducted research on the initiatives and presented practical proposals to officials from MoFA. Ms. Akosa stated that the Foundation would submit a five-page report summarising these proposals and follow up on their implementation, describing the process as an important step towards enhancing youth participation, innovation, and inclusivity in agricultural policy development.
Mr. Bright Demordzi, National Coordinator of the Feed Ghana Programme, described the Ag-Stud Africa Bootcamp as a strategic platform for strengthening collaboration between policymakers and the youth to address challenges within the agricultural sector. He noted that the initiative aligns strongly with the Government’s agricultural transformation agenda and the Feed Ghana Programme, which aims to increase food production, improve market access, promote value addition, and create employment opportunities for young people and women across the country.
Mr. Demordzi emphasised the importance of youth-focused interventions and capacity-building at the institutional level for creating resilient and sustainable agricultural economies. He added that the future of agriculture depends on empowering the next generation to seize opportunities across the agricultural value chain. He assured stakeholders of MoFA’s commitment to working closely with development partners, including Agrihouse Foundation, to support youth participation and innovation in Agriculture
Source: Access Agric
