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Employment of Agricultural Graduates: Who are we training for ?

Sidi SanyangProgram ManagerCORAF/WECARD

Young People, Farming and Food

19 – 22 March 2012University of Ghana, Legon

Accra, Ghana

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Introduction

Funding for higher education in Africa kept pace with the expanding institutional base during the 1960s and 1970s

but this has fallen well behind the growth in student numbers since 1980s

Impact of trained agriculturalists on the performance of African agriculture continues to be debated

Africa’s food and poverty challenges require a redirection of thinking about agriculture’s role in the development process

and the need for a reliable food supply as a precondition for national development

There is therefore a necessity and urgency for change in agricultural education

the “new universities” need to demonstrate willingness and capability to induce change

Recently however, the performance of the agricultural sector has started to show positive trends in a number of African countries but issues such as:

Is the agricultural training on offer adequate in terms of curricula and teaching methods?

Does it equip the trainees with the requisite mindset and skills needed to help increase agricultural productivity by smallholder farmers?

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Methodology

Assessment of employment opportunities for agricultural graduates through the Project -- Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development in Africa (SCARDA)

to enhance institutional and human capacity of national agricultural research systems , in particular the NARIs

Involved four (4) countries -- Mali, Congo, Ghana, Gambia

Three approaches were used

Follow-up approach

o assessment of the training received by the students

o evaluation of courses delivered prior to examinations

o the same assessment is then conducted some time after graduation especially with working graduates

Employer’s approach

o to understand the degree of employers’ satisfaction with the work performance of graduate employees

Retrospective approach investigated

o the impact of the graduates’ working experiences on the reform and or development of new training programs

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Methodology

Study focused on agricultural education and training institutions eg. universities, polythenics, colleges

employers of agricultural graduates in the public sector, agribusiness, farmers’ organizations, NGOs active in agriculture

to a limited extent, regional and international organizations

Open-ended interviews were used to gather information from training institutions

Structured questionnaire was used for the various levels of agricultural graduates and employers

Sample size and character 5-10 employers per country

150 – 170 employed

only 20 – 30 unemployed agricultural graduates

men and women employees were interviewed

covering the previous 10 years

Training and employment opportunities assessed included crops and livestock production

fisheries

Agricultural engineering and food processing

agricultural inputs

environment and forestry

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Mali Republic of Congo Ghana GambiaCentre d’Apprentissage Agricole (CAA) de Samanko

Centre d’Apprentissage Agricole (CAA) de Samé

Centre de Formation Pratique en Elevage (CFPE) de Sotuba Centre de Formation Pratique Forestier (CFPF) de Tabacoro Institut Polytechnique Rural de Formation et de Recherche Appliquée (IPR/IFRA) de Katibougou Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FAST), Université de Bamako

Université Mandé Bukari

Lycée technique agricole Amilcar Cabral (LAAC)

Institut Sylvo Agro Pastoral – Centre d’Education Professionnelle Agricole (ISAP-CEPA)

Lycée Technique Agricole d’Ouesso (LTAO)

Institut de Développement Rural (IDR)

University of Ghana, Legon, Accra

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi

Kwadaso Agric. College in Ashanti Region

Animal Health and Production College in Pong Tamale

Gambia College, University of The Gambia

University of The Gambia

Agricultural training institutions interviewed

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Sector / Country Graduate subject area Gender

Public sector employed agric. graduates

Mali -- 94%Gambia --- 84% Ghana -- 55% Congo – 84%

NGOs Mali -- 4%Gambia -- 7% Ghana -- 14%Congo -- no information

Private sector/Agric. BusinessMali -- 2% Gambia -- 7%Ghana -- 12% only 16 in Congo

Farmer organizationsGhana -- 4%

Mali55% in crops & agricultural engineering

20% in forestry

Ghana50% of employed graduates in economics & crops

17% in animal science

Mali reported 13.7% female agricultural graduate in the public service

Gambiaonly 5% female

Overall Mali, Ghana & Gambia 5% - 14% graduate women employees

Ghana 5% female unemployment rate

11% male unemployment rate

Congo 40% female agricultural graduates

Results: Employment of Agricultural Graduates

Results : Key competencies required by Employers of Agricultural Graduates

agricultural engineering and farm machinery

agricultural economics with emphasis on farm management

innovation systems and value chains

communication including report writing and ICT skills

interpersonal skills

participatory technology development and dissemination

rural sociology / socio-cultural contexts

Limitations of curricular

students spent significantly less time engaged in practical or hands-on training (except Mali & Congo)

very few changes have been introduced into the curricula since the creation of the training institutions

subjects taught remain almost the same with the same contents and the same number of hours

quality of students’ supervision by teaching and support staff was not adequate

Ghana general growing disinterest in agricultural training

number of applicants dropped sharply from 1000 in 2003 to 370 in 2004 at University of Ghana & similar situation at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi

disinterest in agricultural training can be partially explained by the declining job opportunities offered by the major public sector employer since 2003

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Conclusion

Study clearly demonstrates

a mis-match or difference between the agricultural education that is on offer and what potential employers are seeking

need to establish strong linkage, partnerships, networking and learning with civil society employers

o agribusiness / private sector

o farmers’ organizations

o with greater emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship

will help make agricultural training more responsive to the changing job market

Such linkages should enable students’ access to practical attachments and internships at enterprises

To achieve this however, radical change is required in the mindsets of policy makers and those running agricultural training institutions in terms of

Governance, leadership and management; norms, values and practices

policy analysis

learning processes / innovation

entrepreneurships

participatory curricular and teaching methods

project design, financial and human resources management

climate change

 

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