New Year School and Conference records impressive attendance

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Jan. 21, GNA - Professor Michael Ayitey Tagoe, Dean, School of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana, said this year's New Year School was one of the most successful in terms of participation.

This year's School and Conference recorded a total of 112 participants.

In terms of age distribution the breakdown is: 21-30 forming 9.8 per cent; 31-40 constituting 39.3 per cent; 41-50 forming 20.5 per cent; 51-60 forming 25.3 per cent; and 61 and above forming 4.3 per cent.

Participants were a mix of farmers from a variety of backgrounds, representatives from district assemblies, entrepreneurs, officials from government agencies, and students.

Prof Tagoe, who is also the Acting Provost of the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, said this in his closing remarks at the end of the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference, on the theme: 'Promoting National Development through Agricultural Modernization: The Role of ICT.'

He said the major objective of the school and conference was to create the platform for the dispassionate discussion of issues of national interest.

He said the core of resource persons and their depth of knowledge of their topics added another dimension to this year's school.

"Although we have struggled to attract the youth to the School, this year we witnessed a little improvement over that of last year's," Prof Tagoe said.

"One of the innovations of the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference was the youth dialogue.

"We wish to thank the young farmers and the senior high schools that participated in the programme," he said.

He expressed gratitude to sponsoring organisations and agencies for their contribution towards making this year's Annual New Year School and Conference a success.

"We wish to thank Graphic Communications Group Limited, Exim Bank, MTN, COCOBOD, KOSMOS Energy, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economics Research, Citi FM and INFORCUS PR for their support," he said.

"We shall work throughout the year for a column to be created on the 68th Annual New Year School in the Daily Graphic, for short articles to be published to educate Ghanaians on the issues discussed during the School, and the way forward," he said.

On the way forward, Prof Tagoe said this year, the School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE) would ensure that the communique was widely circulated and discussed throughout the country so that the ordinary Ghanaian would understand it.

He noted that the SCDE would facilitate mini-workshops in the regions with the support of some of the institutions that had participated in the school and conference.

Prof. Tagoe said they would produce policy briefs on various sub-themes discussed at the school.

He noted that adequate opportunities would be created to ensure that information was widely disseminated both locally and internationally.

"We shall also create the environment for national dialogue with experts and policy-makers to determine the need for an e-agriculture policy.

"We shall call for the creation of inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral collaboration and co-ordination to facilitate the environment for the development of such a document.

"We shall ensure the creation of a community of Practice among stakeholders to offer the sharing of knowledge, new ideas and innovation within the agriculture sector and other institutions outside the agriculture sector since ICT is cross-cutting," Prof. Tagoe said.

Professor Samuel Kwame Offei, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Academic and Students Affairs, University of Ghana, who chaired the function, said recommendations from the New Year School and Conference would be forwarded to government for implementation.

"The University of Ghana will provide the requisite support to the School of Continuing and Distance Education to pursue the issues raised in the communique with government, and we are certain that these will play a key part in modernising the agricultural sector in Ghana," he said.

GNA