114 entrepreneurs in the agriculture value chain from the Ashanti and Western Regions have received general agriculture certification after being trained at the Kwadaso Agric College as part of the European Union-funded Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project.
The 114 beneficiaries are graduates of SNV’s Basic and Advanced Skills training under its Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) Programme, and have undergone weeks of training facilitated by Kwadaso Agricultural College and extension officers from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).
The training was done in partnership with the Kwadaso Agriculture College, where the college provided a certified training on Climate Smart Agricultural practices to the youths who have completed SNV’s Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) Programme and are interested in agriculture or are entrepreneurs in the agriculture value chain.
A total of three pilot phases were carried out, with pilot 1 and 2 occurring in the Ashanti Region in two districts: The Ejisu Municipality and the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality, which are predominantly farming communities.
Under the final phase, the training was scaled up with a total of 69 – 29 women and 40 men – OYE graduates from the Ashanti (Sekyere Afram Plains and Sekyere Kumawu) and Western (Jomoro, Wassa Amenfi East, and Ahanta West) Regions receiving the training over a 2-week period.
As part of this final phase, participants were given lessons, including in-class theory from Kwadaso tutors and practical, field exercises facilitated by extension officers from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at the Kwadaso Agric College.
Senior Skills Development Advisor at SNV Ghana, Awudu Damani Musah, in an open remark, noted that this initiative is to equip the youth with requisite skills to boost agribusiness in the country.
“We believe the youths hold the keys to sustainable development; however, we understand they lack opportunities. To bridge this gap, SNV uses our flagship Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) Programme, which partners with public and private institutions to increase entrepreneurship and employability skills for youth job makers and job seekers. 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,” Awudu Damani said.
Ashanti Regional Director of MoFA, John Manu, for his part, encouraged the participants to use whatever knowledge they have received to improve their work on their various farms and agribusinesses.
About GrEEn Project
The Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a four-year action from the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
The project aims at creating greater economic and employment opportunities for youths, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable green businesses and providing employable skills training to youth job seekers in two selected regions in Ghana – Ashanti and Western – in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.
GrEEn is implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa with a total contribution of €20,600,000.
