The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), KNUST has hosted the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ghana, Mr. Roey Gilad, to explore opportunities for strengthening agricultural training and collaboration through the Agro Studies programme.
The meeting formed part of efforts to deepen academic and agricultural cooperation between Ghana and Israel by providing students with practical international training and exposure to modern farming technologies.
Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Gilad, introduced the Agro Studies programme, an international agricultural internship initiative involving several African countries.
He explained that the programme offers agriculture students from across Africa the opportunity to spend 11 months in Israel, where they combine practical training with academic learning.
"We take agriculture students from all over Africa to Israel for 11 months, where they spend five days a week working with Israeli farmers, learning new techniques in greenhouses, irrigation, post-harvest management, you name it," he said.
He noted that agriculture has remained the foundation of the long-standing relationship between Ghana and Israel despite the expansion of cooperation into other sectors.
"During the years, our relations with Ghana have been based mainly on agriculture. Now we've moved into new areas, including high-tech, fintech, and cybersecurity. However, agriculture was, is, and will be the cornerstone of our relations with Ghana," he added.
He further explained that the initiative is implemented through three key partners: Agro Studies, the International Centre for Agricultural Interns in Israel, participating universities, and Ghana's Office of the Minister of Special Initiatives, under the Office of the President.
According to him, the partners have agreed to begin with a one-year pilot programme, during which 50 students from Ghana will be selected to participate.
"The programme is expected to begin in early September. This university was selected as one of five universities participating in the pilot this year. We therefore expect KNUST to nominate about 10 students, preferably from the third year, to take part in the programme," he said.
The Provost of the College, Prof. Dadson Awunyo-Vitor, expressed his appreciation to the Israeli delegation for selecting KNUST as one of the institutions to participate in the pilot initiative.
He assured the delegation of the College's readiness to support the successful implementation of the programme and encouraged faculty members to work closely to ensure that deserving students benefit from the initiative.
The discussions also explored opportunities to expand future collaboration between CANR and Israeli institutions in agricultural research, innovation, and capacity building.
