African Girls and Women in Agriculture (AGWA), have engaged female students from Ejisu Senior High and Technical School on prospects of agricultural courses and exposed them to various career opportunities in the field.
Dr Priscilla Francisco Ribeiro, a Research Scientist and Maize Breeder at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who also served as the non-governmental organisations Chief Executive Officer (CEO), stated that agriculture education in the country was being undermined.
She emphasised the opportunities associated with the study of agriculture and encouraged girls to choose agriculture as a subject, adding that the organisation’s goal was to encourage girls at tertiary levels to pursue agriculture as a career and to promote agriculture and entrepreneurship among girls and women.
As AGWA works to empower women and girls in agriculture, Dr Francisco said the organisation was encouraging high-level engagement of females through mentorship and exhibition programmes.
She recommended parents not to dissuade their children from pursuing agricultural-related courses, emphasising that there are several opportunities to enhance their level of life.
Some agricultural students who spoke with the Ghana News Agency after the event said they were previously discouraged by their peers from offering agriculture but were now glad to be agriculture students because of the opportunities they had been exposed to.
By Eunice Tekie Tei, GNA