UG Nkabom initiative to empower youth launched

The University of Ghana (UG) has launched the UG Nkabom Collaborative, an all-inclusive initiative aimed at empowering youth to lead the transformation of Ghana’s agri-food systems. 

The programme, which is part of a wider strategic partnership between UG, Mastercard Foundation and McGill University, seeks to equip young people with the skills, resources, and opportunities needed to thrive across the entire food and nutrition value chain.

Speaking at the launch, the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Setor Dumelo, noted that the  UG Nkabom initiative was a timely step towards empowering youth in agriculture and urged the University of Ghana to take bold, practical action to complement academic training.

“It is not enough to teach agriculture in classrooms; we must see our universities practising what they preach in the field.

“Transforming Ghana’s agri-food systems requires all hands on deck, from the government to academia, industry and communities. This collaboration is a model of what that collective effort can look like," he said.

He, therefore, encouraged young people to take full advantage of the initiative, stressing that they had a crucial role to play in shaping Ghana’s future through agriculture and also challenged institutions to lead by example.

Initiative 

The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Gender, the Ministry of Trade, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), academia and students, among others.

A mentorship and honours programme was also launched to offer students hands-on training and academic enrichment in agri-food systems.

Priorities

The Vice-Chancellor of UG, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, who launched the initiative, emphasised that it aligned with the university's strategic priorities of student-centred learning, transformative research and sustainable partnerships.

“This programme is intended to be transformational and staff and student-centred, while pursuing groundbreaking and relevant research, leveraging on strategic engagement and partnerships,” she said.

Additionally, she expressed confidence that the UG Nkabom Collaborative would play a vital role in cultivating a new generation of agripreneurs, tech-enabled farmers, and food system innovators across Ghana and beyond.

Transformation

For his part, a Public Health Nutritionist, UG, Prof. Richmond Aryeetey, noted that traditional ways of learning and operating in agriculture no longer met the needs of young people, and that innovative, youth-led approaches were required.

“We cannot do this using the same old ways of learning and working. Nkabom programming is, therefore, seeking to enable game-changing innovations led by our youth,” he said.