Kwadaso Agricultural College graduates 140 agriculture entrepreneurs

 At least One hundred and forty four agriculture entrepreneurs of the Opportunities for Youth Em­ployment (OYE) project of the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Gha­na (GrEEn) of the SNV Nether­lands Development Organisation, graduated from the Kwadaso Agricultural College in Kumasi last Friday.

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has a mission to strengthen capacities and catalyse partnerships that result in sustain­able impact in three sectors of focus: agri-food, energy, and water systems.

In 2022, SNV Ghana and Kwa­daso Agricultural College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to carry out a partnership to train and award a National General Agriculture Certificate to entrepreneurs in the agriculture value chain who have completed the OYE Basic and Advanced Skills Training.

Under this partnership, three pilot phases, with the first and second pilot targeting youth and entrepreneurs in the Ejisu Municipality and the Ejura-Sekye­dumase in the Ashanti Region, were carried out between August to December 2022.

Unlike the two previous pilots, the final phase of the training targeted OYE graduates in both the Ashanti and Western Regions where the GrEEn Project is being implemented.

Speaking at the graduation cere­mony at the weekend, Mr Awudu Damani Musah, Senior Skills Development Advisor at SNV Ghana, acknowledged the contri­butions of the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana for making it possible for the partner­ship to come to fruition.

“By funding the Boosting Green Employment and Enter­prise Opportunities in Ghana, popularly called the GrEEn Project, the European Union is continuously showing its dedica­tion to promoting the growth of green jobs and green businesses at the local and national level and we at SNV Ghana are proud to partner with the EU to support the job creation and skills devel­opment goals of the government of Ghana,” he remarked.

According to Mr Musah, due to SNV’s focus on agriculture and now, agri-food, “we have always worked, and will continue to work with Ministry of Food and Agri­culture in our agriculture-related programing, since SNV started operations in Ghana in 1992”.

“Under our GrEEn Project, SNV Ghana has been implement­ing OYE by carrying out skills training, facilitating on-the-job skills development through in­ternships and practical learning as well as providing funding to green microbusinesses and start-ups,” he underlined.

 FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMAS