Gold Fields plant seeds of hope at Tarkwa Prison

For inmates of the Tarkwa Prison, rehabilitation is taking on a new meaning as the prison farm becomes a place not only to produce food, but also to cultivate skills, dignity and hope for life beyond the prison walls.

Through its Prison Agro-Support and Empowerment (PASE) Project, the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation has supported the expansion of the prison’s oil palm plantation from 30 to 50 acres, creating new opportunities for inmates to acquire practical agricultural skills while helping the facility strengthen its food production capacity.

The project, launched on Thursday, August 6, 2026, forms part of Gold Fields Ghana Limited’s broader investment in sustainable livelihoods and enterprise development in its host communities.

Speaking at the launch, the Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Razak Abdel Yakubu, said the company was particularly proud to be associated with the prison service because of the important role it played in reforming people and preparing them for reintegration into society.

He said his personal perception of prisons had changed over the years, recalling his days at the University of Cape Coast when he studied a course on deviant behavior and visited prisons as part of his academic work.

Mr. Abdel Yakubu recounted visiting Ankaful Prison and later Nsawam Prison, where he encountered inmates facing serious criminal convictions, experiences he said had left a lasting emotional impression on him.

“Since that experience, whenever I see your uniforms, I get scared,” he said jokingly, before acknowledging the important role of the prison service.

He said the prison should be seen as an institution for reformation and expressed appreciation to officers for the difficult work they undertook to transform inmates. Mr. Abdel Yakubu commended prison officers for what he described as a demanding calling involving sacrifice, patience and an understanding of human behavior.

He said his interactions with officers had convinced him that their work required more than the use of force, noting that even inmates considered violent could be brought under control through discipline, professionalism and the relationships officers built with them.

He urged the gathering to recognize and applaud the prison officers for the psychological skills required to manage and reform inmates.

Turning to the PASE initiative, Mr. Abdel Yakubu said the project was designed to go beyond food production to provide inmates with practical skills that could transform their lives after their release.

He said the foundation wanted inmates who passed through the programme to leave prison with skills they could use to build productive livelihoods.

“We would like people who leave your care to become the best agronomists and one day hold the microphone somewhere and say that I learned these skills when I was unfortunate or fortunate enough to be in the care of Ghana,” he said.

The foundation has invested more than US$7.48 million in enterprise development initiatives across its host communities, including the Community Oil Palm Project (COPP), Cocoa Farmers Support Programme (CoFaS) and Youth in Organic Horticulture Production (YouHoP).

At the Tarkwa Prison, the intervention has an added significance because of the facility’s food requirements. The prison had already cultivated 30 acres of oil palm, providing an opportunity to supplement food production while equipping inmates with practical agricultural skills.

However, with a population of more than 340 inmates and a daily feeding allocation of only GH¢5 per inmate, there remained a need to expand agricultural production to support the prison’s food requirements.

In response, the foundation supported the establishment of an additional 20-acre oil palm plantation, bringing the total cultivated area to 50 acres.

The expansion was supported with 1,400 Tenera oil palm seedlings, 141 bags of NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer, 200 bags of organic compost, 10 knapsack sprayers, 36 pieces of glyphosate weedicide, 20 cutlasses and 10 pairs of Wellington boots.

The inputs, valued at GH¢144,666, are expected to provide the resources needed to establish, nurture and maintain the plantation.

The foundation is also considering the establishment of an oil palm processing center at the prison to enhance value addition and reduce reliance on external suppliers.

Beyond increasing agricultural production, the PASE Project is designed to empower inmates and prison officers with practical knowledge in oil palm cultivation, plantation management, crop husbandry and sustainable farming practices.

For inmates who may eventually return to communities where employment opportunities are limited, such skills could provide a means of earning a livelihood and rebuilding their lives.

The initiative therefore seeks to turn the prison farm into more than a source of food. It is intended to become a training ground where inmates can acquire employable skills, develop self-reliance and regain confidence in their ability to contribute meaningfully to society.

Mr. Abdel Yakubu said the project represented one of the ways Gold Fields sought to support the prison service in its reformation mandate and ensure that inmates returned to society better prepared for productive lives.

He also conveyed the appreciation of the foundation and Gold Fields Ghana Limited to the prison authorities for their partnership.

He said the Managing Director of Gold Fields Ghana, who was unable to attend the launch because of official engagements in Accra, also wished the initiative well.

Mr. Abdel Yakubu further acknowledged the contribution of Gold Fields employees, saying their collective efforts had made it possible for the foundation to support institutions and communities beyond the company’s mining operations.

“The longer hours you are spending in the pit or in the plant, the longer hours the security guards are spending at the gates, the longer hours that the foundation team spend in the communities, and everybody’s effort, the human resource team, everybody’s effort culminated in the funds that we had to come and support not just the institution itself, but also our brothers and sisters who have found themselves in the care of the prison service,” he said.

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