Five colleges of agriculture in Ghana have been provided with digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning. The initiative, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the World Food Programme, in partnership with the Agric Ministry, aims to equip students and instructors with skills and knowledge to apply mechanization and digital technologies. The digital tools will improve productivity, efficiency, and resilience across agricultural value chains. This move seeks to address challenges facing Ghana's agriculture, including climate variability and limited access to timely information.
The digital tools provided include 60 moisture meters, 60 soil testers, and 60 greenhouse environmental-control learning kits. Additionally, 60 IoT sensor education kits, weather station starter kits, and 60 GPS devices have been supplied. The package also includes agricultural spraying and drone-flight simulation systems, as well as agricultural data-processing software. These tools will give students hands-on experience with technologies increasingly being applied across the agricultural value chain. Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku notes that the equipment will enable students to assess soil conditions, inform decisions on planting, and monitor soil moisture.
Ghana's agriculture continues to face challenges, including climate variability, declining productivity, and pest and disease outbreaks. The adoption of digital technologies in Ghana remains limited, particularly among smallholder farmers, due to gaps in digital skills and access to appropriate technologies. To bridge this gap, modern agricultural equipment has been provided to the five colleges of Agriculture, including Kwadaso, Damongo, Wenchi, Ohawu, and Ejura. The equipment will enable students to apply digital technologies to improve productivity and efficiency.
The ceremony forming part of the KOICA-WFP partnership on Youth Economic Empowerment through Digitalisation for Resilience in Food and Nutrition Security and Improved Livelihoods. Country Director for the World Food Program, Aurore Rusiga, explains that the agriculture colleges were selected to strengthen their capacities, influencing the quality of agricultural services available to farmers. The colleges provide an important entry point for building capabilities of using technologies.
Country Director for KOICA Ghana, Dong Wan Woo, encourages the colleges to integrate the technologies into practical training, ensuring students have meaningful opportunities to use them. The real value of the equipment depends on how it is used, he notes. KOICA remains committed to working with the government and people of Ghana for sustainable and inclusive development. Instructors and tutors are expected to undergo a three- to four-week practical drone-training programme.
The Digital Agriculture Training Programme will be rolled out to students across the five agricultural colleges. The principal of the Kwadaso College of Agriculture, Albert Appiah Amoako, expresses gratitude for the items, highlighting their essential role in pedagogy, meeting the changing needs of the agricultural sector. The agri-tech initiative builds on WFP's support for practical skills development within Ghana's agricultural colleges.
The initiative began in 2025 with the Post-Harvest Mechanization Training Programme. The goal is to ensure that agricultural professionals from these colleges are equipped with the skills and knowledge to effectively apply mechanization and digital technologies. This will improve productivity, efficiency, and resilience across agricultural value chains.
Key points
- The five colleges of agriculture in Ghana have been provided with digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning.
- The digital tools will improve productivity, efficiency, and resilience across agricultural value chains.
- The initiative aims to equip students and instructors with skills and knowledge to apply mechanization and digital technologies.
