Africa has over the years been exploring ways to make agriculture attractive to its teeming youth. The continent’s farming populations are ageing and the young educated people expected to take over the occupation are dragging their feet due to the lack of necessary resources like land, inputs and technology and most importantly, motivation to seek full-time career opportunities in the sector.
Africa has more than 60 per cent of the world’s fertile but uncultivated land and the continent imports US$35 billion to US$50 billion of food per year, reports the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa. This narrative presents a bitter-sweet picture because while the continent’s potential is too obvious to sidestep, the youth have struggled to fully appreciate the immense opportunities inherent in agriculture.
According to a recent report by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) in 2017, the agenda to attract educated young people into farming (agriculture) “has to focus on the challenges that discourage them from farming (agriculture).”
This calls for practical effort that deliberately engages the youth as the focal point of a reawakening designed to ignite, nurture and point agric-students to the limitless window of opportunities presented by agriculture.
AG-STUD Africa (Agric students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp), represents the best example yet of how to effectively prepare the youth to identify and take advantage of exciting career opportunities that will put them on the path to prosperity.
AG-STUD Africa 2019 is a-three-day student capacity building boot-camp scheduled for Thursday, February 21 – Saturday, February 23, and intended to specifically target students of agricultural science and beginner agribusinesses. The maiden edition of the programme came off in 2018, in Accra with an impressive turnout and a generally positive outcome. Ghanaian and foreign Agric-institutions numbering 320, took part in the first edition held in Accra.
Agrihouse Foundation, the organisers of the event is an ardent proponent of Ghanaian agriculture and its ability to cause far-reaching societal advancement. That is why for the second time in as many years, the firm has again partnered with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Intervelle and the J.A Kuffour Foundation to roll-out what promises to be a bigger, better and more impactful AG-STUD Africa 2019.
This year’s event has been packaged to consolidate the significant gains made during the maiden edition.
“Last year was great. The feedback was overwhelming and so we are poised to deliver our best effort yet.
We have critically reviewed the programme modules to include practical sessions that we believe will go a long way to ensure that we groom the next generation of agro professionals who will rely on a cocktail of zest, tact and expertise to ensure that Ghana and in extension, Africa realises the huge potential in her agriculture sector.” she avowed.
This year, participants are expected to be taken through a sequence of carefully thought-out program-modules that will reinforce their interest and love for the agricultural discipline and consequently pave a clear path for rewarding future careers in the industry.
This year’s theme is “Growing Futures- Enabling the Agri-Youth.”
