Tertiary level agriculture students receive laptops and connectivity through AgriConnect

Starting February 5, the AgriConnect team began delivering laptops to students at the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (UCC) and at KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology). Currently, over 1,000 students have received their laptops and connectivity and thousands more will benefit in the coming months.

AgriConnect was developed through a partnership between theSOFTtribe and the Mastercard Foundation 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.

Over 3,500 students from across the 10 participating institutions have already registered to be part of this new and innovative programme that has been designed to:

• Provide 10,000 students enrolled in agriculture and agriculture-related adjacent faculties with laptops and connectivity.

• Enable these students to participate in three supplementary courses – value chain development in Agriculture, Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship, and digital literacy – designed specifically for the programme to 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 says, “We are pleased with the enthusiasm and interest in AgriConnect – particularly by faculty and students of the 10 participating institutions – and 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.”

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 862 cedi – 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.

The 10 Participating Institutions

1. Damongo Agricultural College

2. Ejura Agricultural College

3. Kwadaso Agricultural College

4. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

5. Ohawu Agricultural College

6. Pong Agricultural College

7. University of Cape Coast School of Agriculture

8. University of Development Studies Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Sciences

9. University of Ghana School of Agriculture

10. Wenchi Agricultural College