Agric students receive laptops from AgriConnect
Tertiary level students studying agriculture have started receiving laptops through the AgriConnect project which seeks to support agriculture students across the country.
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Already, about 1000 students from the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (UCC) and at KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) have received their laptops and internet connectivity, more students expected to receive theirs in the coming months.
The AgriConnect initiative 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.
The initiative is also expected to enable these students to participate in three supplementary courses – value chain development in Agriculture, Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship, and digital literacy.
Students that are participating in the programme have been asked to contribute GHS862 – 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.
Commenting on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer of theSOFTtribe Limited, Tetteh Antonio said he was pleased with the enthusiasm and interest in AgriConnect – particularly by faculty and students of the 10 participating institutions.
“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,” he stated.
In the next few weeks, he said the AgriConnect team would 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.