Accra, Dec 14, GNA- The office of Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Member of Parliament for Korley Klottey, in partnership with Agrihouse Foundation, an Agribusiness non-governmental organisation, is to roll out an agricultural capacity building programme on December 16.
The three-day intensive and practical Agricultural Capacity Building and Business Set-Up Roadshow (NAGRICA) themed: “It’s Possible” is targeted at the youth of Ghana.
The first leg of the training for beneficiaries in Greater Accra region would start from Thursday, 16 December through to Saturday,18 December.
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, said 7, 11 applications were received in the Greater Accra region.
“A hundred and fifty (150) applicants were shortlisted from the screening, with 20 extra beneficiaries from the physically challenged community,” it said.
It said the upcoming three-days training programme would cover practical training lessons on mushroom farming, rabbit and snail rearing, with the snail rearing reserved solely for the physically challenged amongst the participants.
According to the statement, among the topics to be treated at the training would be rabbit, mushroom and snail production; Processing and Packaging; Accounting and Book-keeping; Stock Distribution; Nutrition, Feeding, housing, Marketing (Branding); and other Leadership and Mentorship sessions.
It said: “At the end of the training, each participant shall be equipped with starter packs, such as: 6-room cages, 2 female rabbits (does) and 1 male rabbit (duck); Training Manual, as well as certificates of participation.”
The statement said the participants would be taken through sessions such as accessing funds, operating a livestock business, highlights on existing standards, compliance and certification programmes, sales, marketing and improving visibility, among other related mentorship conferences as activities for the first day.
“On Day 2 participants will go through a comprehensive competence-based and practical training on Rabbit, Mushroom and Snail productions commenced; whilst on Day 3- the training continues, and includes Branding and Advertising, Marketing and Sales, Accounts and Book-keeping, Communication Skills, Entrepreneurship; Processing and Packaging; and management of Cooperatives,” it said.
In a recent joint press release, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, and Agrihouse Foundation, had noted that the initiative would help the hundreds of young Ghanaians acquire skills in rabbit, snail and mushroom farming, processing, as well as marketing.
“This will help them make money to support themselves and their families. It will help reduce unemployment, empower women, and ultimately help reduce poverty in the society,” the release said.
The statement said, “the whole idea is to have the value chain circle in place that will create a market linkage system, and we are very happy that Parbs Meat is partnering us, with the intention of buying off the produce from the beneficiaries of this project.”
In Ghana, about 400,000 youth join the labour force annually (ACET, 2020), with a greater part of that figure not finding jobs.
GNA