Agri-connect to support 10,000 students in agric colleges
Some 10,000 students enrolled in agriculture and agriculture-related faculties in Ghana are to benefit from a laptop and connectivity project, thanks to a partnership between theSOFTtribe and the Mastercard Foundation.
Over 3,500 students from across the 10 participating institutions have already registered to be part of the new and innovative programme dubbed AgriConnect.
AgriConnect was developed to focus on education and training to enable youth, including young women and persons with disabilities, who are interested in agriculture to benefit from new and emerging opportunities in the industry.
It is designed to enable the students to participate in three supplementary courses, namely, value chain development in Agriculture, Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship, and digital literacy.
AgriConnect was designed specifically augment the existing curricula taught in academic institutions to better prepare students for entering the labour market and accessing meaningful and fulfilling work after graduation.
Chief Executive Officer of theSOFTtribe Limited, Mr. Tetteh Antonio said, “We are pleased with the enthusiasm and interest in AgriConnect, particularly by faculty and students of the 10 participating institutions.”
He added, “we are driven to deliver on the stated objectives of this proof-of-concept phase of AgriConnnect so that this important project can be scaled up and provide opportunities to more schools and students. Our thrust is to incentivize youth to participate in agriculture, especially technology-driven agriculture towards building viable and sustainable long-term careers.”
He announced that in the next few weeks, the AgriConnect team will continue its roadshow at participating universities and engage with students to support them with the registration and payment processes and help them to navigate the bespoke learning platform that the supplemental courses are being offered on.
Students that are participating in the programme have been asked to contribute GH₵862 – a small fraction of the cost for the laptops, which they are able to keep after the programme ends – and the connectivity, which they will receive for one year.
AgriConnect is aligned with and designed to advance the Government of Ghana’s thrust to create an enabling environment to make agriculture an attractive and profitable venture for Ghanaian youth, creating both employment and sustainable livelihoods for the expanding youth population.
It is also aligned to several national policies including Ghana’s national economic plan, Ghana Vision 2020, and the National Youth Policy (2010). Under AgriConnect, the youth, including young women and persons with disabilities (PWDs), will be provided with devices to facilitate their access to digitally enhanced learning in agriculture and agriculture-adjacent sectors as a means of increasing their access to work opportunities and improving their livelihoods.
