Five agricultural colleges get digital farming tools from KOICA, WFP and Agric Ministry

Pinned summary · as of 07:54

Five of Ghana's agricultural colleges have been handed a package of digital teaching equipment, funded through a tie-up between the Korean aid agency KOICA, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The colleges benefiting are Kwadaso, Damongo, Wenchi, Ohawu and Ejura.

What we know

• Kwadaso, Damongo, Wenchi, Ohawu and Ejura agricultural colleges are the five institutions receiving the digital equipment, which is meant to sharpen hands-on training for students.
• The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is working with WFP and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on the project.
• The package covers soil testers, moisture meters, GPS devices, weather stations, Internet of Things sensor kits, greenhouse control kits and agricultural software, together with simulation systems.
• Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku spoke at the ceremony and tied the equipment to preparing students for modern farming, with the Agric Ministry saying its value lies in bringing technology into agricultural education.
• Instructors and tutors at the colleges are to be trained to use the technology and bring it into their lessons, after which students will get practical training.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Adom Online gave specific quantities, saying the colleges are receiving 60 each of moisture meters, soil testers, greenhouse kits, IoT sensor kits and GPS devices; The Vaultz News did not give counts.
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  The Vaultz News reported that the handover happened at the Kwadaso Agricultural College in Kumasi and that mini drones and computers are part of the package; Adom Online did not mention the venue and described drone-flight simulation systems instead.
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  Adom Online said tutors will go through a three- to four-week drone-training course before a Digital Agriculture Training Programme is phased in across the five colleges, and that WFP's work with the colleges began in 2025 with a post-harvest mechanisation programme. Neither point has been repeated elsewhere.
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  The Vaultz News cited unnamed stakeholders as believing that stronger digital agricultural education could produce a workforce able to help farmers and agribusinesses adopt suitable technology; this is an opinion rather than a confirmed outcome.

Why it matters for Ghana

Agricultural colleges train many of the extension officers and technicians who advise farmers in districts across Ghana, so better equipment and better-trained tutors can shape the advice farmers receive. WFP's country director Aurore Rusiga made that link herself, saying stronger colleges improve the quality of services farmers get. Students at Kwadaso, Damongo, Wenchi, Ohawu and Ejura stand to practise with tools that classrooms in the sector have often lacked.