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