AP OAK Company Limited with support from HortiFresh’s Youth Employment project, has organized series of seminars at various tertiary institutions in Ghana to educate students and recent graduates on opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment within the horticulture value chain.

The seminars, which were held at the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast and the Ejura Agricultural College, are part of AP OAK’s Graduate-in-Agribusiness Horticulture project. The theme for the seminars was: ‘Exploring Agribusiness Opportunities for Youth Development – Prospects in the Horticulture Value Chain’.

The School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, hosted the first in the series of these seminars. The two keynote speakers – Mr. Selorm Agudu, Managing Director of Urban Jungle Agro and Mr. Abeiku Whyte, CEO of The Farmers Market – drew on their respective entrepreneurial journeys in the horticulture sector to provide participants with opportunities and challenges that could be leveraged to achieve sustainable livelihoods in the sector.

Other resource persons at the seminar included; Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah, Program Manager of HortiFresh and Dr. E.C. Timpong-Jones of LIPREC, who are technical partners of AP OAK and other senior faculty members from the School of Agriculture. The seminar was chaired by Dr. Augustine Tawiah, Hon. Member of Parliament for Bia West Constituency.

The seminars at the Ejura Agricultural College and the University of Cape Coast were also graced by the presence of traditional authorities, municipal chief executives, regional directors of the Ministry of Agriculture and faculty members of the two institutions. During the Ejura seminar, Mr. Bright Akoto, who is the Principal of the College, gave the strongest endorsement of AP OAK’s Graduate-in-Agribusiness Horticulture project and committed to provide land and logistics to support participants in the community who register to take part in the project. Similar endorsements came from the MCE and the District Director of MOFA, Mr. Mark Lomotey.

AP OAK’s objective for organizing these seminars was to showcase the opportunities in the fruit and vegetable sector for sustainable youth enterprise and employment. Additionally, the seminars served as a useful platform for recruiting participants for the Graduate-in-Agribusiness Horticultural Project, which is being organized in the form of a reality TV show. Ms. Portia Yeboah, Managing Director of AP OAK gave insightful presentations to showcase the linkages between the project and its expected impact in supporting beneficiaries to incubate successful micro-enterprises in fruits and vegetables. She emphasized that the project would give priority to young women, who participate in terms of group leadership (roles). All the three seminars saw high levels of interest and participation of students and recent graduates.

The next in the series of seminars will be held at the All Nations University in Koforidua. University students and recent graduates interested in joining the Graduate-in-Agribusiness Horticulture project may contact AP OAK Co. Ltd by visiting their website, www.apoakltd.com or call on 0207331925.