CARE Ghana hosted thirty-two final-year BSc. Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on an educational field trip to one of the organization’s projects, PROSPER project’s community, KD Sresso. KD Sresso, in the Atwima Mponua District is one of the 108 communities, the PROSPER project, implemented by CARE Ghana and funded by Cargill operates in.
“We are excited to host these students and share our knowledge and experience with them as it highlights our commitment to empowering young people”, said Zakaria Yakubu, Head of Programmes, CARE Ghana.
Organized by the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension at KNUST, the visit exposed to the students the operations of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) such as CARE Ghana, particularly in implementing participatory and community-based development initiatives in rural and agricultural settings. The initiative to visit CARE Ghana’s project community was inspired by the handover of equipment to project communities by CARE Ghana in partnership with Cargill.
CARE Ghana provided the students with a deeper understanding of gender mainstreaming and participatory development practices.
“This experience is critical to developing the practical capacity of our students,” said Dr. Patric Appiah, Senior Lecturer at the Department. “This will better help them understand the world of development initiatives and how to navigate and implement them.”
The field visit gave the students the opportunity to interact with KD Sresso community members and stakeholders and also witness the impact of development interventions designed to enhance livelihoods and empower rural women.
The Cargill Sustainability Coordinator, Joshua Quansah, whilst addressing the students said, “One critical thing that is evident in the work done here in this community, is the partnership between CARE Ghana and Cargill. How that partnership has transformed lives and the lasting impact it will make in the community.”
Giving the closing remarks, Sebastian Korese, PROSPER Project Manager said, “This is a great initiative as it prepares you for development work in the future. I will encourage that you carry what you have observed and learnt here forward with curiosity, commitment and the desire to be an agent of change for every community you are present in.”
CARE Ghana is proud to collaborate with academic institutions like KNUST to nurture and empower the next generation of agricultural professionals and development practitioners.
About PROSPER III
The Promoting a Sustainable and Food Secured World (PROSPER) project in Ghana was launched in 2016 by Cargill and CARE to strengthen inclusive governance, enhance women’s participation in decision making processes, improve food and nutrition security and improve access to education and child protection. The project has been run in two phases with the current phase being PROSPER III. PROSPER III has an overall goal of improving food security and gender equality in cocoa growing communities. PROSPER III is targeting a total of 360,200 people in 265 communities across 15 districts in the Western North, Ashanti, and Central Regions. The project has currently reached a total of 77,301 project participants with 69% female.
About CARE International
CARE International is a global humanitarian and development organization working to end poverty and deliver lifesaving support in emergencies. In Ghana, CARE has operated since 1994, focusing on women and girls, climate resilience, agriculture, and inclusive governance. To learn more, visit www.care.org
About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 153 years of experience. We have 155,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
About the Cargill Cocoa Promise
The Cargill Cocoa Promise was launched in 2012 to align efforts in origin countries. It is Cargill’s commitment to improving the livelihoods of farmers and communities in a holistic way that will secure a thriving sector for generations to come. The origin countries include Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia.
