The Kwadaso College of Agriculture with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic is to be upgraded into an Agriculture University. Upon its establishment the transformed agricultural university would serve as incubator for the development of more agricultural professionals in the country.
The Agriculture College, which was established in 1922 to help maintain the enviable position of the then Gold Coast as the world’s leading producer of cocoa, has since evolved into a centre of excellence with increased capacity for training.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who disclosed the proposed upgrading during the centenary celebration of the College at Kwadaso, near Kumasi, last week Friday, said the time has come to reposition the institution to harness its full potential hence the decision to upgrade Kwadaso Agricultural College into an Agricultural University, with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic.
He said the institution over the years had trained some 100,000 young agricultural assistants.
These graduates, he said, had over the years been absorbed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Local Government Service, Ghana Cocoa Board, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as well as the private sector.
President Akufo-Addo said the college had produced a significant number of graduates, who had taken leadership positions in industry, academia, civil society and entrepreneurship, which he said was a testament to its strength.
He said the Agriculture University would mainly focus on the academic and professional development of the country’s agricultural human resources.
The President said “If successful, the plan will include establishing satellite campuses in Ejura and Wenchi Agricultural Colleges.” He also stressed the need for the institution to consciously scale up the number of middle-level professionals who would provide hands-on support in the sector.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that some graduates of the Kwadaso College of Agriculture had begun benefiting from training in the government’s greenhouse internship programme in Ghana and Israel.
“The trainees at such centres are prepared for entrepreneurship by being equipped with academic knowledge and practical skills in greenhouse technology,” the President stated and pledged the
continuous support of the government to upgrade the College into a University.
The President has thus directed the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to step-up efforts and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with Mendel University to realise this vision.
“The collaboration between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Mendel University exemplifies the wisdom of collaborating to make our institutions very valuable to our developmental efforts,” he added
