UCC Wins Preliminary Stage Of Kuapa Kokoo inter-Tertiary School Debate

Accra, May 2, GNA - The University of Cape Coast (UCC), on Monday emerged winner at the preliminary stage, of the Kuapa Kokoo Inter-Tertiary School debate.

Organised by the Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA) and Kuapa Kokoo, the debate was held at the British Council in Accra, and saw eight tertiary institutions competing against each other.

The finals of the debate to determine the over-all winner after this preliminary one, would be held on May, 30th, 2018.

The UCC students beat their opponents from the Ashesi University by scoring 81.6 percent while their Ashesi opponents scored 72 percent.

The other debating opponents were the University of Education Winneba (UEW) versus the Christian Service University (CSU), the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) versus the University of Professional Studies, Accra,(UPSA), and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology (KNUST) versus the University of Ghana-Legon.

Besides, the UCC which by its win, qualifies to compete in the finals, KNUST, GIMPA and the UEW also qualified by beating their opponents who were from the University of Ghana-Legon, UPSA and the Christian Service University respectively.

The KNUST came second by scoring 80 percent against their opponents from the University of Ghana-Legon, who scored 72.8 percent.

The contestants debated the topics, 'The Application of the Cocoa Marketing Board and Infrastructure scholarships, has not helped enough to groom the next generation of cocoa farmers in the country,' and 'ICT is the answer to achieving maximum growth in the cocoa sector in the wake of Ghana Beyond Aid.'

Chief Nat Nsarko, Country Director of the MPA, said the debate competition was one of its kind, and was being institutionalised, to engender a broader discussion and forge a sustainable way of achieving progress 'in the era of Ghana beyond Aid'.

He said the competition sought to create a platform for stake0holders from the 'Cocoa Fraternity', Government and Non-Governmental players and all other stake holders, to deliberate and build consensus on innovative ways that would empower the next generation of cocoa farmers in sustainable farming mechanisms.

'This would enable them to contribute their quota to the President's vision of Ghana beyond Aid,' said the MPA Country Director.

Mr Samuel Adimado, Director of Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU), said well-motivated farmers and an improved agricultural sector, were the best drivers of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.

'We at Kuapa Kokoo believe in grooming the next generation to apply modern technologies to agriculture, as they slowly take over from us,' he said.

Mr Adimado described agriculture as a potential goldmine that could yield impressive dividends if well managed.

'Kuapa is blazing the trail for operationalising His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's Ghana beyond Aid Agenda,' he said.

He said it was unfortunate that cocoa growing areas in the country lacked basic amenities such as good roads and hospitals, adding that the sector's performance had been poor over the past decade.

'The sector's growth performance has fallen in 2015 at eight percent in 2015 to seven percent in 2016 but stabilised at three percent in 2017,' said the KKFU Managing Director, adding that drastic measures had to be taken to revamp agriculture as the mainstay and the largest contributor to the country's GDP.

He said the KKFU sought to ensure that the future of cocoa production was enhanced 'to make Ghana the number one in terms of sustainable and quality cocoa industry.

Mr Adimado observed, that Ghana would be the ultimate winner if the right investments were made into the agricultural sector.

GNA