Strengthening skills and training capacity in the horticulture sector in Ghana

Requesting party and partners:

Asuansi Farm Institute

Kwadaso Agricultural College

Farmer Training Institutes around Kumasi

Consortium partners Q-point:

Maastricht School Of Management (MSM)

Inholland University of Applied Sciences (Educational institution)

CINOP

Graafschap College

KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Sunyani Technical University

Context

Currently, the Farm Institutes (FIs) in Ghana appear not to be very functional. The educational approach is not challenging students enough and enrolment is dramatically low. The curricula require structural revision – including adequate lab facilities – leading to improved career opportunities, and upward student mobility to the higher/TVET education levels, and to fine-tune with the agric curricula, recently revised under NICHE/GHA 270. The FIs require structural change and therefore (confirmed with the management during fact-finding) total rebranding. Moreover, the country is in need for graduates who are allround, competent agripreneurs.

This project focuses on the existing collaboration (see project here) between CINOP, Kwadaso Agric. College, the Farm Institutes, Q-point and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The project aims at enhancing the educational and organizational quality of the agricultural Colleges. The successful results till date of the GHA270 project is the basis of the formation of the partnerships for this project, where we intent to further develop the Agricultural Education towards the level of the Farm Institutes and consolidate the collaboration at College level.

Project goal and outputs

The aim is to enhance the educational and organizational capacity of the three Farm Institutes. These are currently challenged, as they can’t attract sufficient students. However, the FIs are very important in strengthening the agricultural potential of the Ghanaian population. Therefore, this consortium supports them to rebrand the institutes in order to enhance their image, become more attractive for secondary education graduates as well as professional agriculturalists.

The consortium aims to enhance the sustainability of the partnership through a mix of activities, such as: staff exchange, guest lecturing and joint projects, with special attention of implementing projects that contribute to address the needs of people from marginalized groups and to realise gender equality.

Project aims in bullets:

Get students to the Farm Institutes for practical training and further professionalization. Bridge the gap between FI level training to Colleges and Universities in order to stimulate enrolment and ensure sustainability;
The FI’s will train professional agripreneurs with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to practice;
Rebranding of the Farm Institutes and campaigning in secondary schools to make education in agriculture – and especially the Farm Institutes – more attractive. Increase the number of agro-professionals;
Integrate the value chain approach in the curricula and short courses delivered;
Get more children off the street by offering short courses in Farm Institutes.

ATVET/HE organizations (In Ghana and in NL) perform better their core tasks, firmly embedded in their environment (in line with Ghanaian/ regional specific labour market needs & aiming at marginalized inclusiveness and gender mainstreaming).

Services rendered by Q-Point:

Training and research in agriculture, value chain management, gender and inclusion etc;
Support the internationalization strategy;
Create partnerships which enables multidisciplinary Ghanaian/ Dutch projects;
Creating an enabling environment where students and staff can enhance their international orientation.

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

End hunger and children’s undernourishment, double smallholder productivity and income, and ensure the sustainability and resilience of food production systems by 2030 (SDG 2).