As the global population grows, agri-food systems face numerous complex challenges. These challenges are further exacerbated as accelerating global warming, and other human activities, impact upon the adaption capacity of agricultural production and ecosystems. These factors are predicted to have the most serious impact on the African continent.
In North and West Africa, current farming systems face multiple challenges affecting agricultural productivity. Agronomic systems and practices have caused the large-scale degradation of soils and agroecosystems, which has reduced their capacity to store water and nutrients and therefore their ability to support farming and maintain plant health.
To help address these challenges, The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is now coordinating an EU-funded project on Sustainable Intensification of food production in West & North Africa (SustInAfrica). By developing resilient and sustainable farming systems in West & North Africa SustInAfrica aims to empower smallholder farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises and various government and non-governmental organizations in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt and Tunisia, to intensify food production and deliver ecosystem services in a sustainable and resilient manner.
“The project will strive to attain this by providing a comprehensive analysis of local ecosystems, in addition to offering soil, water and plant health management strategies. It will also provide business models and policies and help develop related technologies that support farmers in their decision making”, says project coordinator Nils Borchard.
Two Universities and two Non-Governmental Organizations from Ghana, including the University of Cape Coast (UCC) are key project partners of SustInAfrica. The UCC is the lead partner of Work Package 3 (WP3) of the project. WP3 involves targeted design and implementation of smart farming demonstration trials, for resilient and sustainable agricultural production and the delivery of ecosystem services in selected agro-ecological zones in Ghana. Prof Kwame Agyei-Frimpong of the School of Agriculture is the Principal Investigator (PI) and also coordinates WP3 for all African partners. Other members of the UCC team include Dr Michael Osei Adu, Ms. Fatimah Abubakari Von and Dr. Ransford Opoku Darko, all of the School of Agriculture, UCC.
SustInAfrica (www.sustinafrica.com) consists of 16 partner organizations from 11 countries. The project commenced on the 1.9.2020 and will continue for five years. Funding for the project comes from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program.
Local contact information:
• PI: Prof Kwame Agyei-Frimpong; Department of Soil Science. kfrimpong@ucc.edu.gh
• Deputy PI: Dr Michael Osei Adu; Department of Crop Science. michael.adu@ucc.edu.gh
Update: Information on Registration Numbers and Students’ Portal
Any students/applicant who has any challenges relating to admission letters, registration numbers and accessing the students’ portal should contact these numbers for assistance:
INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION STUDENTS/APPLICANTS – 0246337487/0203596078
REGULAR UNDERGRADUATE/POST GRADUATE STUDENTS & APPLICANTS - 0545801203/0545802062
Calls should be between 8:00a.m. – 4:30p.m. GMT from Mondays to Fridays.
SIGNED
Major Kofi Baah-Bentum (Rtd), Psc APR
DIRECTOR (PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
The University of Cape Coast School of Business has become a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACB).
UCC has now become the second University in Ghana to be approved as a member of AACSB.
AACSB International, a global nonprofit association, connects educators, students, and businesses to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders.
The Association which was established in 1916, provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and learning and development services to over 1,700 member organisations and more than 840 accredited business schools worldwide. The global organisation has offices located in Tampa, Florida, USA; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Singapore.
A statement by the Management of the School signed by the Dean, Prof. John Gartchie Gatsi, said the mission of the association is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education and has as its vision to transform business education for global prosperity.
With this development, the School of Business has joined over1700 member-institutions of the AACSB.
“The membership experience will foster improvement in quality business education, ethical values, responsibility to inspire innovation and community service, with diversity and inclusion,” the statement noted. The statement indicated that “We are committed to the high standard required of our lecturers and administrators in delivering business education, with global mindset and inclusion”
The Management of the School commended the contributions of both teaching and non-teaching staff that led to meeting the stringent criteria set by AACSB.
24
Nov
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24
Nov
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UCC Alumnus Emerges Overall Best Graduating Candidate at the 35th ICAG Graduation Ceremony
An alumnus of the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Ebenezer Boateng, has been crowned the overall best graduating candidate at the 35th Graduation and Admission Ceremony of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra.
Apart from being declared the overall best candidate for Level 3, Mr. Boateng, who is a past student of the School of Business won Overall Best Candidate (First Attempt, Level 3), Best Student for Strategic Case Study (Level 3), and Best Student for Advanced Audit and Assurance.
For his prize, Mr. Boateng received a laptop, certificates, cash, and books.
Profile
Mr. Ebenezer Boateng is an Associate member of ICAG and successfully passed his final Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Strategic Case Study examination.
He read Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) at the University of Cape Coast in 2015 and graduated in 2019 with a CGPA of 3.9 (First Class Honours).
According to Mr. Boateng, life on UCC campus was fairly manageable as he had the support of his family and friends. Through hard work and determination, he completed successfully and got the privilege to do his national service as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Finance, School of Business.
As national service person, Ebenezer was supervised by one of his role models, Prof. John G. Gatsi, the current Dean of the School of Business. He indicated that it was during this period that he prepared and wrote his Levels 2 and 3 examinations in November 2019 and July 2020 respectively.
“My desire to pursue excellence won't end here. I am still hungry and still pursuing as there is no finish line in the race for excellence” he remarked.
Client:
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Ethiopia
Team:
Ferdinand Ahiakpor (PhD) and Eric Amoo Bondzie (PhD)
Countries Completed:
Algeria, Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Mauritania, Namibia, Rwanda, The Gambia, Zambia and the Africa model.
Project Status:
Completed Project
Client:
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Ethiopia
Consultants:
Ferdinand Ahiakpor (PhD) and Eric Amoo Bondzie (PhD)
Project Status:
On-going Project
Client:
Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition, Economic Governance Platform Project
Researcher(s):
William Gabriel Brafu-Insaidoo (PhD), Ferdinand Ahiakpor (PhD) and William G. Cantah (PhD)
Project Status:
On-going Project