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The female agribusiness students, Charlotte Yawa Sodzedo, of Adidome Farm Institute, won the Ultimate Prize Pitch, while Grace Idani of Central University and Angela Afia Pokuaa of University of Cape-coast also won prizes from other sponsors
The Country Director for AGRA, who served as a mentor at the 6th AG-STUD bootcamp, Madam Juliette Lampoh, congratulated the female agribusiness students for excelling at the bootcamp, and encouraged them to use the skills and knowledge they have acquired, at the bootcamp, to serve as Agric Ambassadors to educate, encourage and inspire more young people especially females in to the agricultural sector.
She also highlighted the vast opportunities within the Agric sector, and urged the young women to find their place and position themselves within the value chain.
She reiterated AGRA’s commitment to continue working with Agrihouse Foundation to empower more youth to build their capacity and identify career opportunities in the sector.
She expressed the hope that, their success would inspire other young people, especially, female students to consider careers in agriculture.
Underscoring the importance of positive impacts and making a mark, the Programs Officer for AGRA, Dr. Dorothy Effa, encouraged the winners to better their communities with the skills and knowledge they have gained from the AG-STUD bootcamp.
Madam Regina Aku Richardson, also a Programs Officer at AGRA, urged the winners to stay in touch and learn from one another, when she reiterated the significance of knowledge sharing.
The winners took turns to share their experiences at the 5-day bootcamp. While expressing gratitude to AGRA, for the mentorship session, and to Agrihouse Foundation, for the opportunities and support they have received from the bootcamp.
They also highlighted some challenges young people especially females face in the agricultural sector, such as gender stereotype and the misconception about agriculture being a skill for school dropout and pledged to use their platforms to serve as Ambassadors of mindset change about agriculture and encourage more young people to pursue careers in the sector.
They also used the opportunity to advocate for increased technical and financial support for Agrihouse Foundation, to scale up the annual bootcamp, so more Agric students, beginner agribusinesses and start-ups, can be enrolled and additional support for all the interventions and initiatives driven by agrihouse foundation, which are transforming livelihoods.
The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa thanked AGRA for their continuous support and partnerships, and most importantly, for serving as a Mentor, during the bootcamp.
She emphasized Agrihouse Foundation’s commitment to scale up the annual bootcamp and strengthen the organization’s advocacy and interventional activities on Agri-Youth mindset shaping, career development opportunities, training, mentoring and Agriprenuership sessions, in Ghana and beyond.
She added, the Foundation is working with other partners like the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), to open bank accounts for each of the winners. This will give them access to a wide range of financial services and support that will enable them to grow their businesses and thrive in the agricultural sector. The Input Dealer Shop, for the ultimate Winner, Charlotte, will be established and officially launched in Adidome in September, 2023.
The Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Bootcamp is an annual 5-day initiative by Agrihouse Foundation, to provide career guidance, mentorship, technical and seed capital support to students, agribusinesses and start-ups.
Over the past six years, the bootcamp has groomed, mentored and coached over one thousand seven hundred (1,700) Agric students and beginner agribusinesses and have also indirectly help over hundred thousand (100.000) beneficiaries.
125 young people, from Thirty -three (33) Agric Colleges, Universities, Secondary Schools and Junior High Schools participated in this year’s bootcamp.
The bootcamp has recorded numerous success stories from past beneficiaries. Some have gained employment with leading Agro-business companies, while others have started their own Agribusinesses or productions, all of which are excelling in their chosen fields.
Through the bootcamp, participants have had the opportunity to network and be coached by experienced industry player within the agricultural value chain, learn about the different career paths within the industry, and gain hands-on experience through field trips and practical exercises.
BY:AGRIWATCH REPORTER
