Kosmos Innovation Center has donated agricultural kits including personal protective equipment (PPEs) to a total of 201 junior and senior high schools across 11 regions participating in this year’s School Farm Competition, including schools for special needs. Other items provided to the schools include hoes, rakes, matchets, watering cans, quality seeds and agrochemicals. The items were distributed to introduce the students to the appropriate usage of agricultural inputs.

The School Farm Competition, started as an initiative of Blue Skies Foundation, to create awareness about agriculture among young people and create a pipeline of talent within the agricultural sector with focus in three regions in the south. In 2022, through KIC’s partnership with Mastercard Foundation, KIC partnered with Blue Skies to scale up the programme and to reach more schools nationwide.

The School Farm Competition introduces students in junior and senior high schools to agriculture innovation with by focusing on horticulture. The students learn from concepts such as nursing seedlings, to transplanting, cultivation beds and the right application use of approved chemicals and fertilizer, as well as the use of PPEs. Through the practical experience, the programme seeks to create change in mindset about seeing agriculture as a form of punishment to seeing it as an economic viable activity.

Prior to the  programme roll-out for each year’s school, the teachers are trained on the good agricultural practices and innovative ways to introduce farming to young people. The initiative ends with an award ceremony where deserving schools, teachers, and students are given prizes to appreciate their commitment and enthusiasm towards the project, and the impact made on the students and communities at large.

Through the programme,  participating schools have supported their students to see the benefits of farming. It has also enabled schools to support the school canteen. Some of the yields have also been sold externally and the proceeds have been used to support development in the school.

For 2022, winning schools for the  School Farm of the Year (JHS Category) include: Anyinam AME Zion JHS (2nd Runner up); Cape Coast School for the Deaf & Blind (1sr runner up); and the Winner for this category was Adoe Basic School. The winning schools for the 2022 Best School Farm of the Year (SHS Category) included the following:  Akwamuman SHS (2nd Runner up); Atweaman SHS (1st Runner Up); the Winner for this category was Kwahu Tafo SHS.

In his remarks about KIC’s long-term strategy on youth involvement in agriculture, Mr. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, Executive Director said: “ At KIC, we seek to change the negative image young people have about agriculture in Ghana over the past years. We want to spread the culture of farming among Ghanaian youth, helping them to see agriculture as economically viable, and we are doing this through the School Farm Competition. Through our partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, we have been able to scale up the programme this year to reach more schools.”

KIC remains committed to creating mindset change about agriculture among young people.