RMG Ghana Limited, a leading agricultural input dealership company gave Agric students in eleven tertiary institutions across the country practical orientation on their Livingfields Vegetable Farm at the just ended Agric Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue (Ag-Stud)
The programme which was organised by Agrihouse Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture brought a number of stakeholders along the value chain of agribusiness to interact with students studying Agriculture in the various tertiary institutions across the country over at a three-day bootcamp.
Day one of the programme saw students taken on a field trip to RMG Ghana’s Livingfields at Asutsuare in the Eastern Region of Ghana for practical orientation on how students can find a place in agribusiness after graduating.
At the field, participants were led by Farm Manager of Livingfields, Mr Dennins Nkrumah.
Introducing them to the RMG Livingfields Program, Mr Nkrumah indicated that the project which covers a 100-acre plot of land seeks to engage and prepare graduate farmers who have the interest to go into agribusiness for the job market, either as quality employees of existing agric firms or successful entrepreneurs in the sector.
“When they come, practically we have something on the ground and so we are going to harmonise theory with practice and also organise lecture series from specialised areas to ensure that, an individual after staying in Livingfields gets the capability of replicating everything leant and go further to start business,” he said.
After the Livingfields experience, Managing Director of RMG Ghana, Mr Williams Kotey lectured participant on the theme: ‘What Agric Industry Players Expect from New Graduates’.
He began his presentation by outlining the various business opportunities in the agribusiness chain from production, processing, through to the final consumer.
He also emphasised on the role of information technology (I.T) in the agribusiness processes in production, marketing etc.
“There are so many opportunities in agribusiness and so what matters is graduate farmers identifying their passion, understanding their competence and what gives them satisfaction because the value chain is long to meet such aspirations”
“There are opportunities in postharvest, warehousing, technology and even teaching and so it all depends on what the graduate farmer wants” he added.
Speaking after the exercise, Mr Albert Appiah Amoako, Vice Principal of Kwadaso Agricultural College expressed his excitement at the opportunity afforded the student to acquire knowledge on the practical aspect of what they are taught.
According to him, the experience would not only develop the interest of students in agribusiness, but also make them attach importance to what they are taught in school and apply them.
By Kingsley Asare
