On 1st August 2020, His Majesty the Asantehene commissioned 10 greenhouse clusters at the KNUST campus. His Majesty was accompanied by the new Vice-Chancellor Professor Dickson.
Among the 10 tunnels was a sweet pepper transplanted on the same day. That greenhouse structure belongs to Miss Adrena Kyeremanteng, a graduate of KNUST who is among the 100 young entrepreneurs selected to benefit from the initiative financed by Ghana Exim Bank. The beneficiaries through the technical support of Agri-Impact have nurtured their greenhouses and their vegetables are ready for the first harvest. They are cultivating different crops and are in different stages of maturity at the KNUST cluster.
Earlier yesterday, Mr. Dan Fahene Acquaye (CEO) of Agri-Impact Consult and Mr. Abraham Kofi Sarfo CEO and chief advisor at ABSL joined the YUGEP-KNUST production team to participate in their first harvest. The yields from the first harvest were beyond the projected yield. They appeared impressed with the progress made so far.
Commending the beneficiaries for adhering and complying to the greenhouse production protocols, the Executive director of AIC said, “I am very excited with the amazing results, we envisage that with savings and reinvestment, you (beneficiaries) would grow to have more spinoff businesses along the value chain to employ more young people”. He also touted the project’s use of young talent; “It’s very encouraging for the future of Agribusiness in Ghana, he said. He was optimistic that, the YUGEP initiative would go a long way to resolve the issue of persistent importation of vegetables into the country.
Overall, the Ghana Exim Bank funded Youth in Greenhouse Enterprise project has created about 100 enterprises for graduates on their journey to self-employment. Already, the beneficiaries of the project have staff on their payroll to support them in their production activities.This is sustainable employment. Thank you, Ghana EXIM Bank, for your leadership and strategic intervention in supporting the youth.