he Mastercard Foundation in partnership with Agri-Impact Limited has rolled out an ambitious and transformative program dubbed Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) to be implemented by eight Implementing Partners including NewAge Agric Solutions, National Service Scheme (NSS), Ghana Cares (MiDA), Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), TechnoServe, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Jobberman.
HAPPY is built on 3 intervention areas: i) increasing production and productivity within the poultry, rice, soybean, and tomato value chains, ii) promoting value addition, fostering entrepreneurship, and facilitating market development and iii) developing strategic policies and advancing youth, gender, social inclusion and voice and agency.
The program aims to create 326,000 dignified and fulfilling jobs for youth (70% women) and persons with disability, increase food production by 190,000 tons, generate annual revenue of over $200million, and increase agricultural productivity in rice, soybean, tomato, and poultry value chains to reduce import of strategic foods by 10%.
Under HAPPY, Agri-Impact Limited is collaborating with the E-Learning Centre of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to roll out the e-HAPPY Project. The e-HAPPY training programs seek to deepen the use of ICT, and youth-led digital solutions to transform the agri-food systems in Ghana.
The objectives of e-HAPPY Program include;
Build the capacity of 100 selected youth in the use of innovative digital technological and pedagogical tools through tailor-made coaching modules.
Train 500 trainers of trainers (TOT) youth to become HAPPY Program ambassadors to drive a technology-driven agribusiness ecosystem.
Repurpose/co-create selected content suitable for virtual environments with Agri-impact partners.
Create targeted, innovative online training/technology transfer modules based on identified needs along the Agri-food value chain.
Equip youth to use programming for integrating and programming Internet of Things (IoT) devices in agriculture while using machine learning concepts to develop models for predicting crop yields, pest outbreaks, or optimal environmental conditions based on historical data.
Umar Yakubu’s story didn’t begin with a breakthrough—it began with a quiet loss.
At 26, the young barber from Tema had built his life around his craft. But when an unexpected electrical fault shut down his barbershop, everything changed.
The steady hum of clippers, the joy of shaping fresh cuts—gone. It wasn’t his fault, but it shook the foundation of his everyday world.
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Team of Agri-Impact Limited recently organized a two-day Impact Story and Work Verification Co-Creation Workshop as part of the Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) Program.
Held at the Airport View Hotel from August 6th to 7th, 2025, the workshop brought together MEL teams from the eight consortium members implementing the HAPPY Program.
Agri-Impact Limited, led by Group CEO Mr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has been honoured by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for its outstanding contribution to agribusiness innovation and technology.
The recognition celebrates the company’s unwavering support for KNUST’s E-Learning Centre and the broader university community, particularly in advancing the use of drone technology in agriculture.
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has honoured renowned agribusiness expert and CEO of Agri-Impact Limited, Mr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye, by naming its new drone training facility after him.
The Dan F. Acquaye Drone Innovation and Simulation Unit, located at the University’s E-Learning Centre, was unveiled during the opening ceremony of KNUST’s E-Learning Week 2025 on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
A group of 19 young women between the ages of 15 and 35 have completed a hands-on training in rice and soybean processing, equipping them with practical skills to launch value-added agribusinesses and secure dignified livelihoods.
The three-day training, organized by Newage Agric Solutions, a consortium partner under the Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) Program, took place in Akuse as part of ongoing efforts to promote youth employment and women’s empowerment through agricultural value addition.
Francisca Avansi once sat at home in the Tandema community of the Upper East Region in Ghana—an unemployed SHS graduate with little hope and no income.
Today, she stands as a powerful example of how one opportunity can spark a lifetime of change.
Thanks to the Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) Project, Francisca’s life has been completely transformed.
Teye-Wayo Eliasca Petra, a 22-year-old high school graduate from Adakope, once stood in front of a preschool classroom teaching young children.
Having completed her education in 2020, she pursued teaching out of necessity—not passion. With parents who were farmers, agriculture was always close to home, but never part of her plans.
That changed when she heard about the HAPPY Program through an uncle.
Curiosity led her to join the program, and what began as an experiment has become a life-changing decision.
In the heart of the Shai Osudoku district, where agriculture is a lifeline for many, a remarkable story of transformation unfolds—Once a food vendor selling beans and gari (popularly called gobɛ in Ghana), Portia Azanda has risen to become a certified tractor operator and farm supervisor of 62 hectares of rice fields.
In a small rural community once burdened by hardship and high youth unemployment, a quiet transformation is underway. Thanks to Aglow Farms and the HAPPY Project, hope is taking root—and lives are flourishing.
For Mavis Donkor, a mother of seven, life used to be a daily struggle. Feeding her children, affording healthcare, and simply surviving were challenges she faced alone.
“There were days I would cry, not knowing where the next meal would come from,” she recalls. “When my child fell sick, I couldn’t even afford to take them to the hospital.”
Elizabeth Asantewaa is a young, passionate agriculturist from Ghana whose journey in agriculture has been shaped by hands-on training, perseverance, and the empowering support of the HAPPY Program.
A graduate of Ohawu Agric College in the Volta Region, where she studied poultry, catfish, rabbit, and vegetable production. This was more than education—it was the beginning of a dream.
After her studies, she was posted to Papao for her national service.
