The University of Cape Coast through the School of Agriculture has partnered Agri-Impact to embark on a Greenhouse Project to cultivate vegetables for the University Community and the general public.
The project is being funded by the Ghana Export-Import Bank at a cost of $ 250,000 with10 greenhouses at the A. G. Carson Technology Area at the North Campus. The project has engaged the services of 20 youth including past students of the University who are cultivating cucumber, sweet pepper, and tomatoes in the greenhouses.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah who witnessed the first harvesting of vegetables at the Greenhouses, noted that the project was the University’s contribution to the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme. He commended the School of Agriculture for partnering Agri-Impact to initiate the project adding that “This is a great feat for the School of Agriculture and it is my expectation that you will take good care of the structure so that we can own and expand this project”.
Prof. Ampiah urged the University Community to patronise produce from the farms so that the project could be expanded to enable the general public to also benefit from the hygienic vegetables from the greenhouses. He advised the School of Agriculture to take good care of the greenhouses in order to sustain the project.
The Acting Farm Manager, Dr. Ebenezer Gyamera, explained that the project was a test case for UCC to prove that it could successfully make good use of the greenhouses to produce and sell hygienic vegetables to raise revenue. “We plan to make at least a net profit of GH ¢500, 000 each year,” he predicted.
He noted that Agri-Impact initially did not want to include public institutions however, the University was able to convince the organisation to select UCC as a beneficiary of the project “We have even led the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to also undertake the project” he indicated.
Dr. Gyamera thanked the Vice-Chancellor for showing interest in the project and approving the payment of UCC’s contribution towards the project.
In a related development, the Vice-Chancellor has handed over modern equipment for farming to the School of Agriculture. They are Mechanical Planter, Power Tiller, and other irrigation equipment. The equipment worth GH ¢ 2 million which was sponsored by the College of Distance Education is to support the University Farm to boost mechanical farming.
The Dean of the School of Agriculture, Prof. Elvis Asare Bediako who received the items thanked the Vice-Chancellor for approving the deal to purchase the equipment.