The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has urged 118 Ghanaian graduates sponsored by the African Agribusiness Consortium (AAC) to apply the knowledge acquired abroad to transform Ghana’s agricultural sector and build sustainable businesses.
Dr. Agyepong said the decision by the Jospong Group to sponsor young Ghanaians for postgraduate studies in Russia was driven by the group’s belief that investment in human capital was critical to organisational and national development.
Related Stories
He was speaking when the 118 graduates paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, following their return to Ghana after completing postgraduate studies at the People’s Friendship University and RUDN University in Russia.
The graduates received advanced training in agriculture, ecology and related disciplines, with the aim of equipping them with the expertise to contribute to Ghana’s agricultural and environmental transformation.
Dr. Agyepong said Jospong’s experience in developing young professionals within its businesses had demonstrated the value of investing in people.
We believe in people, we invest in people. When we started in the year 2006, what we did was to recruit young guys from the university and invest in them. Then we built them up,” he said.
He noted that some of the young professionals recruited by the group had risen through the ranks and contributed significantly to the expansion of its businesses across Africa.
According to him, Zoomlion is now present in 29 countries, a growth he attributed partly to the capacity and initiative of people developed within the organisation.
You can have machines, you can have technology, you can have everything, but the human being is the important factor in driving every organisation,” Dr. Agyepong stated.
Jospong takes human-capital model into agriculture
Dr. Agyepong said the group decided to replicate its human-capital development model in agriculture by sending young Ghanaians to Russia to acquire specialised knowledge and return home to apply it.
When we wanted to move into agriculture, we said let’s do a similar one. Let’s bring these young guys, let them go to Russia, study and then come and invest what they are seeing,” he said.
He said Jospong was committed to working with government to support the Feed Ghana Agenda and contribute to the transformation of the agricultural sector.
We want to partner government in the Feed Ghana Project,” he said.
Dr. Agyepong urged the graduates not to be discouraged by the challenges associated with establishing themselves in Ghana, particularly in agriculture.
Ghana is not easy, but people who are into farming who have done it well have succeeded,” he said.
He encouraged them to regard their return as the beginning of a new phase of their careers and to use their knowledge to create opportunities rather than focus solely on conventional employment.
Don’t beat your mind to go back. Settle. Consider that you are starting life afresh,” he advised.
He challenged them to draw on their experience in Russia to help build a new generation of commercially viable agricultural enterprises.
Your skills in Russia, your ideas in Russia, everything you have learnt, let’s put it into a revolution of farming,” he said.
Agric Minister challenges graduates to show results
Hon. Opoku said the return of the graduates was an important opportunity to strengthen Ghana’s agricultural sector with highly skilled, innovative and committed professionals.
He said the government’s Feed Ghana Agenda was focused on increasing food production, improving food security, creating employment and reducing the country’s dependence on food imports.
Our country needs highly skilled, innovative and committed young professionals who are prepared to apply modern agricultural science, technology and management practices to improve productivity, strengthen value chains and enhance value addition,” the Minister said.
He urged the graduates to apply their training to practical challenges confronting farmers and agribusinesses.
The future of agriculture belongs to those who are innovative, technologically driven, entrepreneurial and committed to excellence,” Hon. Opoku stated.
He said the government expected the graduates to become catalysts for transformation rather than simply recipients of academic qualifications.
Ghana has invested in you through the opportunities created by your sponsors. And today, your country looks to you to become catalysts for transformation,” he said.
The Minister further challenged them to demonstrate the value of the investment made in their education.
The ball is now in your court. Demonstrate that indeed you are bringing on board the difference.”
From certificates to enterprises
Hon. Opoku said the graduates should use their expertise to improve productivity, strengthen agricultural value chains, promote innovation and create employment.
He also encouraged them to remain committed to continuous learning and to apply modern technology to agriculture.
The Minister commended the Jospong Group and AAC for investing in young people and developing specialised human capital for the agricultural sector.
I wish to commend the African Agribusiness Consortium and the Jospong Group of Companies for demonstrating visionary leadership through this remarkable investment in Ghana’s human capital. It is a bold and commendable initiative,” he said.
He called on other private-sector institutions, agribusinesses and development partners to adopt similar approaches to developing young professionals.
Investing in young people is one of the greatest investments any nation can make,” Hon. Opoku added.
Graduates urged to embrace practical agriculture
A representative of RUDN University, Prof. Elana Pakina- Head of of Department of agriculture. also urged the graduates to see their return to Ghana as the beginning of the practical phase of their professional journey.
She said the students had received both theoretical instruction and practical exposure to agricultural and industrial companies in Russia.
Today, you are graduated, but the programme does not finish here because now you will start your practical business, applying your knowledge,” she said.
She acknowledged that the transition into agricultural business in Ghana would not be easy but urged the graduates to remain resilient.
When you start business here, it will be difficult also,” she said, while assuring them of continued support from the university and its partners.
The representative said the graduates should continue learning throughout their careers and use their expertise to contribute to Ghana’s development.
The initiative by Jospong and AAC is therefore expected to move the 118 beneficiaries beyond academic achievement and into agricultural entrepreneurship, research, innovation and practical solutions to Ghana’s food and environmental challenges.
