University don calls for a new Agricultural University

Prof Joseph Adjei Kwarteng, Professor of Agricultural Extension, School of Agriculture and College of Agricultural and Natural Science, University of Cape Coast, has advocated the establishment of a new National Vocational Agricultural University to respond to farming and agri-business demands in the country.

He said such a university should incorporate the five existing Ministry of Food and Agriculture training colleges and farm institutes to ensure that well qualified practical personnel were produced.

Prof Kwarteng said this at his inaugural lecture on the topic “A nation at risk: Agricultural Education at the Crossroads” in Cape Coast.

He said programmes to be offered by this new university should be vocational and market oriented and its graduates should be resourced financially with loans and grants as agri-business men and women to establish agribusinesses as part of the national development effort.

The lecture was to showcase some achievements Prof Kwarteng with regards to capacity building through the establishment of the Sasakawa centre and Greenfields and Food Ghana Limited which has created jobs for more than 100 people.

The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Professor Dabire Domwini Kuupole, chaired the lecture.

Prof Kwarteng said having a national Agricultural Education and Training (AET) and Agricultural Technology and Vocational and Education Training (ATVET) policy would guide the development of a new crop of highly motivated and skilled practitioners and entrepreneurs who could harness relevant and appropriate resources to lead Ghana into agricultural prosperity.

Prof Kwarteng said it was also important to separate agriculture from integrated science at the basic and second cycle levels of education to enable appropriate emphasis to be placed on the subject right from the onset.

He stressed the need to reform and revitalize agricultural curricula at all levels to reflect current and emerging agricultural challenges both locally and globally and that the appropriate teacher training for teachers of agriculture should be provided to enable such teachers teach the subject as a practical subject, adding “we can’t teach theoretical agriculture any longer it does not work”.

Prof Kwarteng called for the provision of adequate funding, appropriate teaching and learning facilities including school farms and other resources for the effective teaching and learning of the subject at all levels of education.

He said it was imperative to encourage private participation in the Agriculture Education and Training and ATVET to ensure linkages and expressed regret that the Nkoranza Campus of the Anglican University College of Technology had closed down its agricultural programme.

Professor Kuupole called for the review of all curricula in the various colleges in the university to enable students to have practical hands –on content.

He said it was time to shift from theoretical learning to a more practical teaching and learning system to enable students to adequately respond to global needs.

Prof Kwarteng had his BSc. from the UCC and was awarded a PhD in Agriculture Extension by the Ohio State University in 1986.

He has taught in UCC for more than 26 years and helped with the establishment of the Sasakawa Centre, Sasakawa Guest Chalets and Restaurant and the rehabilitation of the UCC farm structures, as well as provided leadership for curriculum review and for the rehabilitation of the School of Agriculture Laboratories.

He has more than 50 publications and more than 15 textbooks for schools and has also facilitated the development of many agricultural extension training materials.