Dr Kingsley Agyemang
The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat (Scholsec) has partnered with the Jospong Group of Companies to unveil its much-touted ‘Labour Bank’ with an emphasis on agribusiness.
This was unveiled last week in an interactive session via Zoom on the theme: “Agribusiness and Rice Production in Ghana.”
In his introductory remarks, Registrar of the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, said the essence of such an interactive session is to afford industry players like Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, the opportunity to not only share their success stories with students but more importantly, open up to these students on areas they can venture into upon completion of school to help in the development of Ghana.
“As we strive to link academia with industry, Jospong Group comes across as one of the entities in Ghana whose story is worth sharing and can be a motivation for most of our students, especially the agribusiness.
“Looking at how successfully Jospong, through the direction of Dr. Siaw has chalked some successes as far as industry is concerned in Ghana, I thought it wise to have him come on board as a resource person for the first of many interactive sessions we will be having as time goes on,” Dr. Agyemang said.
The Jospong boss, for his part, emphasised on the importance of academia collaborating with industry, stressing that it creates a powerhouse of knowledge and practicality which goes a long way to advance development.
His company, he assured, was ready to tap into the knowledge of these students upon completion of their studies which, according to him, is essential because of their exposure to other cultures and acquisition of knowledge from diverse backgrounds.
The youth, he said, largely play a crucial role in shaping the future of agriculture in Ghana.
“With your knowledge in digital matters, this is also the time that you can bring that knowledge on board as well and we are ready to tap into this knowledge.”
According to him, there is a lot Jospong has to offer these students, especially across the rice value chain.
He mentioned that a lot of potentials abound for them in areas such as input providers, extensive officers, cooperatives, tractor operators, millers seed breeders, engineers, storage experts, warehousing experts, agtech personnel, and researchers.
He commended Dr. Agyemang for initiating such a buoyant idea because youth-driven agribusinesses have the potential to transform agriculture into a more dynamic, sustainable, and profitable sector.
Dr. Agyemang, in his closing remarks, thanked the Jospong Group for collaborating with the Secretariat and urged other companies to come on board since the Secretariat’s ‘Labour Bank’ will provide employment for the youth and help bring some fresh ideas into Ghana’s industry.
The ‘Labour Bank’ aims to create a platform for the supply of the right human resource to meet the needs of the industry of Ghanaians who have undergone training outside the country through the Scholarship Secretariat.
BY Daniel Bampoe