Soil degradation has been identified as the major catalyst for the low agricultural productivity in the country and the sub-region at large. In a bid to address this perennial enemy to the African farmer, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in collaboration with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) have launched a PhD programme in Soil Sciences.

The programme, which is being hosted in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, in the Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, aims at developing and strengthening both regional human and institutional capacity in their quest of developing adaptable technological solutions for the problem of low productivity in Agric. The programme starts with 10 students drawn from the following countries: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Nigeria with a grant support of US$ 2,194,693.00 from AGRA.

In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa was upbeat for the selection of KNUST as a Centre of excellence for the training of human capital to halt the dilemma facing the Agricultural sector on the continent. He said, “It is not common for an institution to have the privilege of hosting an important programme such as this. I am very happy that KNUST has been selected by AGRA to build a Centre of Excellence to train the needed manpower”. Prof Adarkwa noted that, to transform Agriculture into an extremely productive, efficient and competitive sector on the continent, there is the need for requisite manpower that is endowed with a solid foundation in Soil science to facilitate it.

He added that, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD estimates that only 2% of Africa’s Agricultural Scientists are in soil sciences hence, it is difficult to confront the agricultural problems related to soil fertility. The Vice-Chancellor indicated that, a comprehensive and extensive curriculum has been developed to be used for the training of the Ph.D. Students in the programme. He used the occasion to extend the University’s gratitude to the benefactors, AGRA for their immense support towards the eradication of poverty and hunger and increasing Agriculture productivity in the sub-region. 
He subsequently gave a brief of the course’s modules. He pledged the University’s support towards the sustainability and effective execution of the project to meet the intended purpose.  

The Chairman of the occasion was the Director General of Soil Research Institute, Dr. A. B. Salifu. He challenged the students to study hard and promised them of his office’s support for a successful programme. He stressed that, “no way can you lift the productivity of Agriculture without taking into consideration, the basic requirement which is soil”. 

The President of AGRA, Dr. Namanga Ngogi, was pleased about the launching of the laudable programme to resolve one of the problems facing Africa. He announced that, AGRA would commit itself to work hand in hand with the Universities and government to train human resources needed for the progress of agriculture in the Sub-region. 

Delivering the Keynote address, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Kwesi Ahwoi, reiterated that, the most important challenge of agriculture in Africa is how to increase soil productivity. He observed that, although Africa’s agricultural yields are one-quarter of the global potential; the cost of land degradation has been estimated at US$ 42.00 billion in income. He therefore confidently hoped the programme would halt the rapid degradation of soil, thereby comprehensively improving Agricultural productivity in Africa.

He added that, his Ministry is committed to maintain close collaborations with the universities to appreciably mount innovative and adaptable technological systems to train a quantum of Agricultural Scientists to promote the sector in the country and on the continent at large. 

Finally, he advised the pioneering students to dedicate themselves and give out the best to their continent after their studies. “Africa needs you, your countries need you, our farmers need you to join the fight against land degradation and let us together make Africa hunger-free”, He said.