The Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact, Daniel Fahene Acquaye has advised institutions across Ghana to rethink how they handle National Service Personnel (NSPs) and prioritize training and skills development instead of relegating them to menial tasks.
Speaking at the Young Agribusiness Professionals (YAPP) Cohort 3 Grande Finale and Awards Night in Accra, Mr. Acquaye stressed that service personnel are an asset whose energy and innovation can boost productivity if given the right tools and mentorship.
“Normally when they post National Service persons to institutions, some see them as a worry, some see them as business as usual. Oh, the National Service people have come. To us, we see the National Service Program as a platform where young people should have the opportunity to learn, improve their skills, and become other entrepreneurs or employable,” he said.
He explained that at Agri-Impact, service personnel undergo a formal orientation, receive training in soft skills, work ethics, public speaking, reporting, and digital tools like Excel before being integrated into different departments.
Mr. Acquaye condemned the poor treatment often meted out to service personnel in other institutions, saying, “They shouldn’t be sending them, go and buy me gob3, go and buy me Coke, take this far from this office to that. And that is like all that they need… No, we don’t treat young people like that. Let them have voice, let them have agency. Respect them, give them their dignity, give them the tools, mentor them, encourage them.”
He warned that organizations that fail to invest in service personnel cannot later complain about graduates lacking industry skills.
“You that you have industry skills, when you had the opportunity to work with them, you only sent them as errand boys. How did they get industry skills? This is what we want to tell the world and we want to tell Ghanaian firms, private sector, public sector. National Service persons are assets to our institutions. Let us embrace them.”
The Agri-Impact boss further called for deliberate national policies that deploy large numbers of service personnel into agribusiness, particularly in rice, tomatoes, and poultry value chains, where Ghana spends over $1 billion annually on imports.
“National Service posting should not be seen as punishment to young people. Let us know what institutions are looking for and let us deploy the young people to these institutions… We get productivity and performance from these young people contributing to national agenda and addressing national issues. That is how National Service should be.”
Mr. Acquaye concluded that National Service, if structured properly, could become a powerful buffer between graduation and permanent employment, equipping young Ghanaians with practical skills while directly addressing national development challenges.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Ruth Dela Seddoh, commended Agri-Impact for its initiative to secure a better future for the youth.
She encouraged other institutions to emulate the company’s example and urged young people to take advantage of opportunities in agriculture.
