On 28th-30th July, UNU-INRA organised a three-day training workshop for 40 young women from Universities, TVET Schools, Senior High Schools, Apprentices, Innovators and Entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agritech sector.
This training workshop is part of INFoCAT (Innovate for Clean Agricultural Technologies), an IDRC- Canada funded project, aimed at advancing women’s and youth economic empowerment in rural areas of African countries -Ghana, Senegal (Enda Energie) and Cote D’Ivoire, by promoting low-cost, clean energy-powered agricultural technologies.
With a theme on “Renewable Energy Integration into Agritech Design for Climate-Smart Solutions”, the workshops’ objective was to build the technical and entrepreneurial capacities of these young women, with a special focus on green designs principles and integrating renewable energy solutions into agricultural technologies, to promote sustainability, productivity, and gender-inclusive innovations. The training workshop was to foster peer learning, promote mentorship between students, innovators, and experts, and build a network that supports continuous learning and collaboration.
Some key topics taught by agricultural, green and renewable energy experts include:
- Climate-smart agritech design and green engineering principles;
- Energy-efficient innovations for rural settings;
- Solar energy systems and applications in agritech;
- Hands-on solar installation and system sizing and
- Agritech business development
The workshop also included practical trainings in clean energy-powered agritech technologies, with sessions on solar energy installation and a field trip to some INFoCAT grantees (young agritech innovators) in Accra.
These field visits provided the young women with hands-on practical experience, exposure to various Agritech machines, and the opportunity to engage with established innovators. They also gained deeper insight into the process of identifying challenges faced by smallholder farmers and transforming those challenges from ideation to the development of innovative solutions
One of the INFoCAT grantees visited was Villiam Star: developers of a solar-powered cassava peeling and washing machine, and Fred Kwaku Ventures, a women-led enterprise that has designed a clean, multi-fuel roaster capable of using four different fuel types for processing grated cassava (gari). Other agritech innovations showcased during the visit included a mobile solar-powered groundnut plucking machine (INFoCAT innovation), a palm oil extraction machine, various types of graters, and several other locally developed agricultural machines.
As the African continent makes efforts in transitioning towards a greener economy and enhanced food security, it has become evident that projects like INFoCAT are critical in fostering the promotion and innovation of clean agritech solutions. The project not only equips young entrepreneurs and innovators with practical skills and mentorship in the green space, but also creates valuable opportunities for research and learning that inform and influence policy across the continent.
Sponsor: International Development Research Centre: IDRC(Canada)
Partners: Enda Energy (Senegal), UNU-INRA (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire operating Unit).
