Asokore SDA SHS, Chinto JHS win Blue Skies School Farm Competition 2018

Koforidua Asokore SDA SHS was emerged winners in this years Blue skies School Farm Project Competition with respect to the SHS category while the Chinto L/A J.H.S. also emerged winners in the basic school category.

The keen competition which is aimed at sensitization the Youth the need to engage in Agriculture due to its enormous benefits had two categories. The SHS category which features those in the second cycle institutions and the other being the basic which also involves those in the basic Schools. This year saw a progress since every participating team was ready to win and thereby engaging with all the resources at their disposal.

But since eventually only one school emerges as the winner, Pope John became the 1st runner up while Aburi Sectech followed as the 2nd  Runner up. Meanwhile, the Extraordinary performance from the Chinto JHS made them winners for the basic category.

In an interview with Mr. Alistair Djimatey, the Public Relations Officer for Blue Skies, on Friday 30th November 2018 after this year’s blue skies school farm competition Awards at Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT hall in Koforidua Eastern Region, he said now Agriculture has moved beyond just growing the crop to processing and Marketing.

Due to that he said there is a need to prepare the minds of Ghanaian youths to see the opportunities in the area of Agriculture so that it will not always be sitting in an office work in order to been able grow the agriculture industry and create the jobs we need as people.

However, he said the main idea of this program thus school farm competition is to give young people the platform to know the opportunities that exist in agriculture and not see it as a punishment.

He said based on their research they conducted some years back in schools, they realized that every child want to be something else apart from being a farmer and as an Agri-Business it is their major concern hence they piloted this program which enable school children to grow vegetables, assess and reward them base on their understanding and commitment.

Mr. Djimatey believes that if this program becomes a Nationwide program, in some years to come Ghana’s agriculture outlook will change. He then urged stakeholders in Agriculture, Government and other Organizations that have interest in agriculture to partner and support them to move this program forward.

He said if our agriculture system is good, it will produce enough to feed the industries and the industries will provide the jobs we need which will solve the unemployment we are facing as a country.

Chinto L. A J. H.S. in Koforidua emerge as winner in the basic school level follow by Church of Christ Koforidua J.H.S. and Akwane_Dodro J.H.S became third in this year’s blue skies school farm competition.

The schools that emerged as winner went home with Five desktop computers each.

However, Mr. Emmanuel of Chinto L. A Jenoir High School emerged as the best teacher and to be flown abroad with Sumaila Abdul and Belinda also emerged as the best Male and Female respectively from the same school to be exposed to the benefits of agriculture.

By: Radio1News|Ghana