FAO donates books to 3 institutions
The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has donated over 8,000 books, reading and research materials to three learning institutions in the country.
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Described as knowledge materials, they are to help increase access to learning resources in higher learning institutions.
The beneficiary institutions are the University of Ghana School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Development Studies (UDS) and the Ghana Library Authority (GLA).
The donation was part of efforts of the organisation to make available resources and information related to agriculture for the use of students and researchers.
The academic resources cover a wide spectrum of topics, including agriculture, biodiversity, African agricultural statistics, food processing, forests and forestry, gender in agriculture, climate change, among others.
Knowledge sharing
Presenting the items to the institutions at a short ceremony in Accra last Friday, the Deputy Regional Representative for Africa, FAO, Yurdi Yasmi, said as the biggest donation in the country, the publications served as a testament of FAO's commitment to fostering learning, knowledge sharing and collaboration across Africa.
“Knowledge sharing is a beacon that guides us towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals thus the steering potential of the African youth through the data and analytics gleaned from these publications will help fuel our journey towards a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world”, he explained.
Mr Yasmi stated that beyond the publications that were being handed over, the FAO was also offering an online publications repository that was freely accessible to all through our website, as he encouraged all to explore and make use of the resources.
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He, however, advised that the beneficiary institutions should understand the basis of knowledge sharing to cultivate a culture of collaboration, innovation and dedication to harness the power of education and information to usher in an era of transformative change.
“So, let us remember that these publications are not merely ink on paper; they are seeds of wisdom that, when nurtured, have the potential to blossom into greatness hence let us embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, armed with knowledge, fueled by passion, and united in our pursuit of a better tomorrow”, Mr Yasmin added.
Beneficiaries
The Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences, UG, Professor Irene Susana Egyir, expressed appreciation to the organisation for the benevolent act.
She stated that the learning materials were precious because as academia, all they discovered were in books and when they discovered things on the field they put them in books hence it was a knowledge sharing cycle.
Prof. Egyir added that the donation of the physical books was laudable as in the era of digitisation there was a tendency to forget as compared to the diagram books.
“We believe that with the circular economy motive, there is a wide range of information that the FAO has put in these materials that would build the capacity of students, staff and the faculty as a whole.
Receiving the books on behalf of the UDS, the head of the UDS, Accra Office, Michael Ansa, commended the organisation for reaching out to the needs of students as he explained that reading was the most important way of education
He stated that the publications which contained varied real-life experiences and best practices across the globe would further empower the students to become game changers wherever they found themselves.
The Deputy Director of GLA, Edward Addo-Yodo, who received the books on behalf of the authority, said it was a good gesture that would positively impact the vision of connecting citizens to good literary resources.