Many farmers had become extremely worried and had sleepless nights over the issue, which calls for rapt government intervention.

Mr Dganamah, 76, made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Kasoa in the Central Region on Wednesday where he brought some farm produce for sale at cheaper prices to encourage the youth to take up agriculture as a profession.

He advocated that policymakers must create an enabling environment and boost the morale of the youth to venture into agriculture, particularly mango and coconut farming, which had become lucrative.

Research, he said, showed that mango and coconut cultivation were extremely profitable with ready markets.

“Mango and coconut cultivation can help address the increasing unemployment rate among the youth if they should go into these crops farming,” Mr Dganamah said.

However, he observed that the availability of land would play a key role in this venture and appealed to traditional authorities and landowners to consider giving portions to the youth to cultivate to become self-sufficient and reduce the unemployment rate.

He reiterated the call to stop the rampant sale of farmlands in the interest of peace, tranquillity and the development of the country.

“Agriculture is the backbone of every economy, providing raw materials and revenue for communities globally,” he said.

Mr Dganamah, the 2007 Shai-Osudoku Best Farmer and 2012 National Best Crop Farmer, said he started farming in 1991 with agro afforestation on a125 -acre land and later added mango and coconut, which had been very lucrative.

His long-standing and rich expertise in best farming practices had given him the opportunity to be a council member of a school farming project in the Shai-Osudoku District.

He expressed appreciation to all who in diverse ways had supported him in this successful adventure.