Strathmore Business School to start program on unior Management for Agricultural Value Chains

Strathmore Business School to start program on unior Management for Agricultural Value Chains

Strathmore Business School, AGCO Africa, Harper Adams University and The Bridge Africa yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on with Strathmore Business School to start a training program for Africa’s junior management for agricultural value chains.

As the first training program to focus on Junior Management for Agricultural Value Chains, the program is being launched at a time when the demand for agriculture to produce more food from less is driving the pace of change in farming practices in Africa.

Strathmore Business School will be the lead partner in the AGCO Agribusiness Qualification scheduled to begin in March 2018. “Through this partnership, we are confident that we have the capacity to meet the needs of the Agricultural sector. The program will integrate both theoretical and industrial relevance to address the current trends in the sector,” said Dr. George Njenga, Dean Strathmore Business School.

“The biggest challenge we are facing in growing our business in Africa, is the inadequate talent in the sector. For instance, we operate in 45 countries in Africa, but unfortunately, 80% of our employees are of European descent. This has been furthered by the poor representation of the industry, which is often, embodied through the image of an elderly small scale farmer. This narrative must change if our youth are to embrace the various facets of the sector,” remarked Mr. Nuradin Osman.

The two-year agribusiness programme will be delivered in SBS in Nairobi, Zambia and South Africa and will initially target youth aged 20-30 years who upon successful completion will be considered for potential job opportunities within AGCO and the agricultural supply chain in Africa. Other partners who will be playing a vital role in the program include Harper Adams University in the UK and The Bridge Africa.