The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has received 118 Ghanaian professionals who have completed postgraduate studies in agriculture at the People's Friendship University of Russia with a commitment to integrate them into Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda.

The scholars, sponsored by the African Agribusiness Consortium (AAC) and the Jospong Group of Companies, returned home with advanced training in agronomy, agriculture, ecology, soil and plant health, climate change, and sustainable agriculture.

Speaking at the ceremony in Accra, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, CEO and Founder of the Jospong Group, said the program was modeled after the group’s success with Zoomlion. 

"When we started Zoomlion in the year 2006...We invest in people. Today, Zoomlion is in 29 countries...We can boast about 50 PhD staff. As for Masters, we have about 1,500," he said. 

Dr Agyepong urged the returning scholars to be resilient. 

"Ghana is not easy. Ghana is tough. Farming too is not easy. Farming also is tough. But people who are into farming...have succeeded. So have a certain mind that...Ghana is your home. It's your motherland."

He added that Jospong Group is “seriously committed" to partnering government on the Feed Ghana Project.

"Anything JOSPON wants to do, by the grace of God, and by the help of God, it will be done."

Eric Opoku, Minister for Food and Agriculture, also welcomed the graduates on behalf of government and announced a major support package.

"The Ministry has reached an agreement with the AAC. Under this agreement, 750 acres of irrigated land at Puniandu have been allocated," he stated.

The Minister said the AAC will provide logistics to establish a vegetable farm and will pay irrigation water fees to ensure sustainable use. 

He described the partnership as the kind of collaboration needed for national growth.

"This partnership between the private sector and agricultural departments is examining the kind of collaboration Ghana needs to establish sustainable growth."

Opoku said government’s goal is to ensure the expertise of the graduates "translates into increased agricultural productivity, enhanced food security, job creation, and national economic growth".

Dr Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, CEO of AAC, on her part, said the vision was not just to give certificates but to build a new generation of professionals.

"Our vision was to develop a new generation of professionals who will return home with the knowledge, discipline, exposure and confidence required to contribute to Ghana's agriculture and environmental transformation," she said.

She called for a “deliberate bridge between education and implementation" and urged government, private sector, and academia to work together so that "education becomes enterprise, research becomes production, and young people become drivers of transformation".

Addressing the scholars directly, she added; "The country will expect more than certificates from you. It will expect ideas that work...practical responses to climate change and environmental degradation."

A representative from the People's Friendship University of Russia also assured the graduates of their continued support, noting that Russian industrial companies will provide financial backing for those going into crop production.

The Ministry said it will work with AAC and Jospong Group to develop a clear framework for deploying the scholars in commercial production, research, mechanization, climate-smart agriculture, and agribusiness development.