Israeli internship programme must be sustained

In June 2018, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, was in Israel to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with his Israeli counterpart, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Uri Ariel, where Ghanaian agricultural graduates would undertake an 11-month paid internship with experienced Israeli farmers.

Under the agreement, while in Israel, the graduates would be attached to cooperative farms called Kibbutz, where they work on the field for five days and one day in the classroom.

The first batch of 50 graduates left the shores of Accra in October the same year to begin their hands-on training with selected farmers. The programme has since been on, and the fifth batch of 200 beneficiaries has started leaving to begin their programme.

The Daily Graphic, which has followed this MoU since the signing until now, believes the move by the two countries is a positive one and must be sustained.

However, the sustainability of the programme has come under scrutiny following the decision of some of the beneficiaries to abscond after the training in Israel.

Three from the first batch absconded, which attracted scolding from both the ministry and the Israeli Embassy in Ghana, and that seems to have put the fear of the devil in the second and third batches.

Unfortunately, information from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture indicates that 15 out of the 200 who went last year cannot be accounted for as they prepare to touch down in Accra from Israel.

This brings the number to 18 since the inception of the programme and the minister is considering cancelling the programme if the trend continues in order to save the image of the country, particularly when some have devised plans to use LGTB+ as an excuse.

The Daily Graphic notes that such an action is a betrayal of the effort the minister put in and also a betrayal of the trust the minister made his Israeli colleague, who did not hesitate to increase the initial allocation of 30 slots to 50 for a start. That, according to the Israeli, was rare.

We do not hesitate in joining the ministry to condemn the action of those graduates and believe that the time has come for any student selected to participate in the programme, to go through stringent screening and signing of bonds that come with hefty fines to serve as a deterrent. Those who do not secure guarantors should not be allowed to go.

The Daily Graphic is happy that this time round, the selection of participants is school-based and the fact that they are continuing students, which means that they must have to return to complete their programmes of study.

The students are also made to sign bonds and participating institutions are held accountable for their students and risk being blacklisted in subsequent participation.

Parents of participating students should jointly sign the bond, which should cover the stipend that the student would be paid.

It is obvious that some of the parents and guardians of those who absconded are in the known, and in some cases are the ones that encouraged their children not to return.

Additionally, the ministry should consider publishing names of such students as a way of naming and shaming.

We are looking at something drastic that should scare the students from absconding, so as to ensure that many other students also benefit from the programme.

The various farmers that the students have been attached to must also ensure that they account for those entrusted to their care, while we urge the Israeli authorities to fish out such students for further action.

After all, the intention of the programme is not for the students to stay in Israel after the training. We believe that this is not a difficult thing for the Israeli government, which is known for its high standard in security.