Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Ghana’s economy, contributing significantly to employment, food security, and rural development. As the nation continues to modernize and diversify its agricultural sector, the demand for well-trained professionals equipped with the latest knowledge and skills has never been higher. Agricultural colleges play a crucial role in this transformation, offering specialized education and training that prepare students to tackle the challenges of modern farming, agribusiness, and sustainable development.
In this article, we explore the top ten best agricultural colleges in Ghana, highlighting institutions that have earned a reputation for excellence in agricultural education. These colleges are recognized for their comprehensive curricula, experienced faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and strong connections to the agricultural industry. Whether you’re a prospective student, a parent, or an industry professional looking to enhance your knowledge, this guide will provide you with valuable insights into the leading agricultural colleges in Ghana, helping you make an informed decision about your educational journey in the field of agriculture.
Currently, Ghana has about eight agriculture colleges and many top universities that offer various certificates, short courses, and undergraduate, as well as postgraduate courses in agriculture. These courses and programs are structured with a lot of practical learning activities designed to equip graduates with skills appropriate for today’s agricultural enterprises.
Students who study agriculture in these colleges in Ghana have the opportunity to work with the Ghana Cocoa Board, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and allied Ministries, Agricultural Research Institutes in Ghana and other countries, Non-Governmental Organisations involved in Agriculture, Standard Boards, Agricultural Colleges and Institutes, and Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) to mention a few.
Here are the Top 10 Best Agricultural Colleges/Universities in Ghana:
1. University of Ghana School of Agriculture
2. KNUST College of Agric and Natural Resources
3. Kwadaso Agricultural College
4. Ohawu Agricultural College
5. Kita College of Tropical Agriculture
6. Damongo Agricultural College
7. Animal Health and Production College
8. Ejura Agriculture College
9. Wenchi Agricultural College
10. Bunso Cocoa College
- University of Ghana School of Agriculture
The University of Ghana Faculty of Agriculture was established in 1959 and is located at Legon in Accra. The school has six academic departments: Animal Science, Crop Science and Soil Science, Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, Agricultural Extension, and Family & Consumer Sciences.
The University runs several programmes: Diploma in Agriculture, BSc. Agriculture, BSc. / B.A Family and Consumer science and postgraduate programmes. The School’s undergraduate and graduate programs as well as diploma and short courses provide technical, professional, and scholastic skills and competencies to students who enroll in them. The University is on a mission to create an enabling environment and to become the best through cutting-edge research as well as high-quality teaching and learning.
CONTACT
+233-(0)302-500381
pad@ug.edu.gh
P.O. Box LG 25
Legon, Accra
2. KNUST College of Agric and Natural Resources
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) is one of the six colleges of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) that was reconstituted in 2004. The college has a mandate to offer tertiary education, training, and research in agriculture, natural resources management, and rural and entrepreneurship development. Participatory and interdisciplinary team research is encouraged and students are trained to acquire entrepreneurial skills as they go through their programs.
The College runs many undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Agriculture, Natural Resources Management leading to awards in BSc, MSc, MPhil, and PhD in those disciplines. The college is well funded to embark on research by USAID, DANIDA, Royal Society-DFID Grant, United Nations World Food programme, Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), World Vegetable Centre, Education for Sustainable Development in Africa (ESDA) just to mention a few.
The College offers 9 BSc programmes and these are BSc Agriculture, BSc Natural Resources Management, BSc Forest Resources Technology, BSc Post Harvest Technology, and BSc Agribusiness Management. Others are BSc in Dairy and Meat Science, and Technology, BSc in Design and Management, Agricultural Biotechnology, and BSc in Aquaculture and Water Resources Management. The College also offers postgraduate programmes at the MSc, MPhil, and PhD levels.
CONTACT
Address
Provost Office
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
KNUST-Kumasi
Telephone
Provost Office: +233-(0)-3220-60100 / +233-(0-208334347
Registrar’s Office: +233-(0)-3220-60381
Accountant’s Office: +233-(0)-3220-60381
College email address
info.canr@knust.edu.gh
3. Kwadaso Agricultural College
Kwadaso Agricultural College (KAC) was established in 1922 at Kumasi. The College was initially established to train young school leavers in cocoa production. The college offers a 3-year Diploma in General Agriculture programme affiliated to the University of Cape Coast.
CONTACT
externalaffairs@yahoo.com
0509406818 / 0244889391 / 0559799671
4. Ohawu Agricultural College
Ohawu Agricultural College (OAC) was established in 1964 to run programs and courses to develop middle-level manpower for the agricultural sector. The College is the only accredited diploma-awarding agricultural college in the Volta region of Ghana.
The College has an institutional affiliation with the University of Cape Coast to run a 3-year Diploma in General Agriculture program. The College also runs a 2-year Certificate in General Agriculture program under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
To produce competent agricultural professionals with an entrepreneurial mindset and attitude. It hopes to become the preferred choice of industry and students for agricultural competency-based education and training that meets the standards of academia, the needs of students, and the demands of agricultural enterprises in Ghana.
The college runs a Certificate in Greenhouse Technology (CGT) at the Greenhouse Capacity Building, a 2-year Certificate, and a 3-year Diploma in General Agriculture. Its courses and programs are structured with a lot of practical learning activities designed to equip graduates with skills appropriate for today’s agricultural enterprises.
The college has recently renovated and equipped its science laboratory, computer lab, and auditorium. It is also equipped with halls of residence, lecture halls, and bungalows for staff.
CONTACT
Postal address: P.O. Box 28, Abor, Volta Region, Ghana
Email: academics@oac.edu.gh
Telephone: 0207054536
5. Kita College of Tropical Agriculture
Kita College of Tropical Agriculture was registered in May 2010 to take over the tertiary educational programs of the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture a premiere private agricultural college that has been offering technical vocational courses and other tertiary courses in general agriculture. The college is located in Kumasi.
KITA’s College of Tropical Agriculture Offers a Certificate (1 year), Diploma (2 years), and Higher National Diploma (HND)(3 years) in General / Tropical Agriculture. The Diploma program provides professional skills to youth for advancing careers in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and veterinary services. The Certificate in Tropical Agriculture (CTA) provides practical skills in agriculture with career advancement opportunities for students and graduates.
The college offers weekend and distance learning for working professionals. You can learn from home with their tailor-made training model that gives you quality learning at your convenience. Although it is a weekend and distance programme, it involves rigorous face-to-face work, field visits, assignments, and supervision to help you advance your career in Agriculture.
The college also provides short courses in animal husbandry, poultry, mushroom cultivation, and value addition as well as management training courses.
CONTACT
University Box 293, KNUST,
Ghana, West Africa.
TELEPHONE: 00233-244108268 / 00233-244796059 / 00233-240497766
6. Damongo Agricultural College
Damongo Agricultural College (DAC) is a training institution under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana. It aims to give students Agri-entrepreneurial skills to meet the current job market. The college is located in Damongo, the regional capital of the Savannah Region.
The general agricultural programme of DAC comprises crops and soil science, agribusiness, agricultural economics, agricultural extension and Home science, animal science, and agricultural engineering.
The college has adequate and well-resourced farms such as poultry, pigs, and cattle as well as modernized ICT, a science laboratory, and a mechanical workshop for practical teaching and learning. Graduates of the college have the opportunity to work as an Agricultural Technical Officer/ Agricultural Extension Agent in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
CONTACT
P. O. Box 36DM, Damongo, Savannah Region, Damongo, Ghana
024 972 0507
dac.edu.gh@gmail.com
7. Animal Health and Production College
Animal Health and Production College at Pong Tamale is the only public veterinary college in Ghana established in 1922 in Tamale, Northern Region of Ghana. The college’s mission is to train Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, and Veterinary Lab. Technicians, to improve upon the livestock production of Ghana.
The College offers a 2-year certificate with a 1-year field attachment and a 3-year diploma programme, either on Field Animal Health or Veterinary Laboratory Techniques. Graduates with a certificate or diploma in Animal Health specialize in the education of livestock owners and the field treatment of livestock and pets while Veterinary Lab Techs work in Vet Labs focusing on research of diseases, vaccinations, post-mortems, diagnosis, and treatment of animal diseases.
The college has adequate facilities including an administration block, a kitchen and dining hall, 3 classrooms, a library, and a laboratory instruction room. Residential facilities are also available for both boys and girls. The college hopes to start running a Degree in Veterinary Nursing progamme in the coming years.
CONTACT
+233 (0) 24 797 7769
8. Ejura Agriculture College
Ejura Agriculture College was established in 1964 and is mandated to train and equip middle-level manpower with the requisite skills and knowledge in modern agricultural practices and agribusiness skills to provide technical and advisory services to farmers.
The skills and knowledge acquired assist them in setting up their private agribusiness enterprises. Courses offered on a departmental basis include Agricultural Engineering, Home Economics, Crop Science, Animal Science, Agribusiness, Agricultural Extension, and Non-Traditional Agriculture.
9. Wenchi Agricultural College
Wenchi Agricultural College originally established in 1964 as Wenchi Farm Institute under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is the newest Agricultural College in Ghana. It became a fully-fledged college in 2020. The college is located at Wenchi, in the Bono Region.
The college offers a 2-year Certificate in General Agriculture, I year of Vocational Programme in General Agriculture, and 1-year Competency Based Training (CBT). Opportunities are available for students after admission to gain accommodation and free tuition during the training period, in groups, graduates may source loans from financial institutions to embark on commercial agriculture and graduates can possibly be sent on an internship in the Republic of Israel.
CONTACT
059 527 9486 / 0242944182.
wacmofa@gmail.com
10. Bunso Cocoa College
Bunso Cocoa College was established in 1950 as an Agricultural Training School by the Ghana Cocoa Board and was upgraded to the status of a college in 1977. The college is located at New Tafo about 75km from Accra.
It runs a 3-year certificate course in General Agriculture with a specialization in Cocoa and Coffee production for trainee Senior Technical Assistants but the college now concentrates on short-term training programmes for staff of the Divisions and Subsidiaries of COCOBOD. It also organizes refresher courses for technical (field) staff of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) and the Seed Production Division (SPD) as well as other courses for the COCOBOD Head Office and its subsidiaries.
Bunso Cocoa College is affiliated with the University of Cape Coast and offers a Two (2) year Diploma programme in Agronomy and Extension (Cocoa and Coffee) and up to 6 weeks short Certificate Courses in the following areas: Farmer Business School Concepts, Cooperative Business School Concepts, Snail Production Technology, Cassava and Gari processing Technology, Plantain Sucker Multiplication Technology, Chilli Production, Maize Production, Cocoyam Production Technology, Guinea Fowl Production, Grasscutter rearing, Cocoa Artificial Pollination Technology.
Some of the objectives of the college are to organize direct farmer training programmes in cocoa production technologies in cocoa-growing areas, offer training programmes, and assist Agricultural Colleges and Universities, in practical training of students, in cocoa and coffee production.
The college has state-of-the-art facilities including air-conditioned multi-channel satellite viewing executive guest houses, standard rooms, chalets, lecture halls, a gymnasium, a recreational centre, conference rooms, and an assembly hall for training, seminars, workshops, and retreats, as well as dormitories. Modern teaching equipment such as laptops, projectors, projector screens, and flipchart stands are also available for use. There is a well-stocked reference library for course participants.
CONTACT
Phone: 055 813 0863 | 020 474 6917
E-mail: info@bunsococoacollege.edu.gh
