The Ashanti Skill Paradox: A Farming Region with “No” Agric Mechanization Training – UNICEF Report Exposes Gap

The Ashanti Region, celebrated as one of Ghana’s foremost agrarian powerhouses, is failing to equip its youth with the very skills needed to sustain its farming future.

This situation was revealed by a new report dubbed “Skills Supply and Demand Side Assessment: A Situation Analysis of the Ashanti Region.” The study, which brought the findings, was led by Step Innovations Africa with support from UNICEF Ghana and Generation Unlimited (GenU)

The key findings of the report cited by The High Street Journal revealed a striking mismatch between the region’s economic backbone and its training systems.

According to the study, while 43 different trades are offered across public and private Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes, ironically, only one institution offers agricultural mechanisation training.

This is despite the fact that agriculture employs a large portion of Ashanti’s population and underpins food security, livelihoods, and local commerce.

Instead, the most common training programs are in fashion design technology, electrical engineering, catering and hospitality management, and building and construction. Although all these training programs are important, they are not reflective of the region’s heavy reliance on farming.

“43 different trades are offered across public and private TVET Institutes (TIs), with the four most common being fashion design technology, electrical engineering, catering and hospitality management, and building and construction,” parts of the key findings of the report noted.  

It added that, “Despite the region’s agrarian nature, agriculture mechanisation training is only offered by one institution.”

The irony is hard to miss. In a region where farmers toil daily to feed households and markets, the youth are not being systematically trained in mechanisation, irrigation, or modern farming technologies that could boost productivity and sustainability.

Although the report indicated that various training programs in agriculture exist at the tertiary level, they are underrepresented in the TVET system.

“Tertiary-level training opportunities exist in the agriculture sector; however, agriculture remains significantly underrepresented within the TVET system,” the report further added.

In addition, emerging areas such as green technologies and digital competencies, skills critical for the future of work, are barely represented in the TVET system.

Experts warn that this skills gap could have long-term consequences. Without targeted agricultural training, Ashanti risks an aging farming population with fewer young people prepared to carry the torch. This undermines food security, rural incomes, and the very economy the region prides itself on.

Stakeholders are calling for expanded agricultural mechanisation and modern agribusiness training, which will not only empower young people with employable skills but also strengthen the region’s resilience against climate change and global food shocks.

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