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Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC), in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation and the Blue Skies Foundation, is gearing up for the climax of the nationwide School Farm Competition (SFC) with the highly anticipated KIC School Farm Awards 2025. The annual awards ceremony, which celebrates student excellence in agricultural enterprise and innovation, is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 14, 2025, at the KNUST Great Hall in Kumasi, beginning at 9:00 am. Rethinking Agriculture: A Mindset Shift The KIC School Farm Competition is a pivotal youth initiative designed to drastically change the perception of agriculture among Junior and Senior High School (JHS/SHS) students across Ghana. Under the theme, “Rethinking Agriculture – Growing Young Minds to feed Ghana’s future,” the program works to re-frame farming from a perceived punishment to a vibrant, profitable, and technologically viable career. Throughout the 2025 cycle, over 700 schools participated, demonstrating the program’s impressive growth and reach into all 16 regions of the country. This marked a significant increase from the over 450 schools involved in the previous year, highlighting the rising interest in agribusiness among Ghana’s youth. The competition is structured as a practical, hands-on learning experience. KIC provides participating schools with essential inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and basic tools. Students, guided by experienced experts and consultants, are tasked with cultivating selected vegetables on a designated plot. The learning goes beyond agronomy, encompassing pest and disease management, soil health, and the appropriate use of modern farm technologies. The Challenge of Enterprise A crucial element of the challenge is the development of a viable business plan for the school farm. This requirement pushes students to think of the farm not just as an educational project, but as a sustainable, income-generating enterprise. This practical focus on agripreneurship is key to KIC’s mission of creating a new generation of agricultural leaders ready to drive Ghana’s food security. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, Executive Director of KIC, previously emphasized the core commitment “The School Farm Competition exemplifies our commitment to nurturing talent and fostering a resilient agricultural economy, by training students on school farm projects and providing them with the necessary resources and mentorship. We are training a new generation of youth who will ensure the future of sustainable agriculture in Ghana.” Recognizing National Excellence The Awards ceremony will be a momentous occasion to honor the students and schools that demonstrated exceptional performance throughout the year. The judging criteria evaluate not only the quality and yield of the farm produce but also the consistency of best practices, innovation in farming techniques, and the strength of the developed business plans. Past winners, like Tamale Girls SHS and Okanta Presbyterian Basic School who won the overall best SHS and JHS awards respectively in the 2024 edition, stand as powerful testaments to the program’s success in cultivating talent across the country. The event will bring together key stakeholders, including officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), development partners like the Mastercard Foundation, and representatives from the founding organization, the Blue Skies Foundation. The ceremony serves as a crucial platform to advocate for continuous investment in STEM-based agricultural education. Winners are traditionally rewarded with prizes, including ICT learning materials, to support their schools’ technological infrastructure. The KIC School Farm Awards 2025 promises to be a powerful celebration, showcasing how Ghana’s youth are embracing innovation to become the next generation of agricultural leaders.
