DULUTH, Georgia, May 25, 2021 – The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger through agricultural development has launched the Africa Agribusiness Qualification (AAQ) program for Africans who want to contribute to Africa’s Agenda 2063 for food security, nutrition, and the agricultural sector.
Starting September 1, 2021, the 12-month, part-time program will provide 20 participants with quality agro-industry training, technical and sales skills, leadership development, agro-entrepreneurship management and work experience.
The program is fully funded by the AAF and implemented through AGCO South Africa’s headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Gordon Institute of Business Science and Harper Adams University in the U.K. will facilitate the program, and AGCO South Africa and the Cerealis Technology Institute in South Africa will provide technical expertise and support.
The AAF is supporting the program as part of its focus on advancement of quality education in agriculture. One of the challenges Africa faces is a widening skills gap and lack of qualified professionals entering the industry, as only 2% of university graduates in Africa specialize in agriculture. By offering the AAQ program, the AAF seeks to promote sustainable agriculture development and commercial agriculture-based enterprises.
“We believe that access to quality education and hands-on training leads to the enhancement of capacity building and skill development in farming,” said Metti Richenhagen, Director, AGCO Agriculture Foundation. “Almost two-thirds of the world's arable land is in Africa, so the continent has great potential to feed itself and the global population. Through the AAQ program, we hope to empower participants who have a passion for the agricultural sector, particularly technical and sales representatives, who can serve as trusted partners to African farmers.”
“There is currently a great demand in our region for qualified professionals to ensure that Africa has safe, sustainable production systems in place,” said Dr. Dominik Reus, Managing Director, AGCO Africa. “We look forward to implementing the AAQ program, working with our partner Cerealis Technology Institute of South Africa and supporting our academic hosts.”
Applications for the 2021 AAQ cohort are now open. To learn more about the program, application process and candidate selection criteria, please visit https://www.agcofoundation.org/aaq/
About AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF)
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), initiated by AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) in 2018, is a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger. The foundation initiates impactful programs that support food security, foster sustainable agricultural development and build needed agricultural infrastructure in marginalized farming communities. AAF is domiciled in Vaduz, Liechtenstein and operations are managed from Duluth, Georgia, USA. For more information, please visit https://www.agcofoundation.org/
About AGCO
AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology. AGCO delivers customer value through its differentiated brand portfolio including core brands like Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra®. Powered by Fuse® smart farming solutions, AGCO’s full line of equipment and services help farmers sustainably feed our world. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, USA, AGCO had net sales of $9.1 billion in 2020. For more information, visit www.AGCOcorp.com. For company news, information, and events, please follow us on Twitter: @AGCOCorp. For financial news on Twitter, please follow the hashtag #AGCOIR.