Agra and Polytech sign memorandum

AGRA Cooperative and the Polytechnic of Namibia, which has a faculty for natural resources and tourism, including agriculture, signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday.

This includes a bursary for outstanding students, a regular internship programme for suitable students at Agra, the use of Agra for research purposes and an annual award for top students.There will also be regular guest speakers from Agra visiting the Polytechnic School of Natural Resources and Tourism, while Agra will participate in the career fairs organised at the Polytechnic. The agreement was signed at the Polytechnic by its Rector, Dr Tjama Tjivikua, and Birgit Hoffmann, senior manager for corporate communications at Agra.’The MoU is an example of public-private partnership’, said Hoffmann.’Agra wants to make a contribution when students enter the job market and Agra also wants to attract and retain the best talent that Namibia has to offer.’ Agra wanted to become the employer of choice for agricultural students with an interest in business, she added. According to Dr Tjivikua, private-public partnerships helped decision-makers to develop a better understanding how institutions could jointly face common challenges and to improve operations, develop new technologies and advance research. ‘About 1 100 students are enrolled at the Polytechnic School of Natural Resources and Tourism, which combines land management, agriculture and nature conservation, among others.’The agreement would go far in supplying agricultural economists, agri-business managers and related technical and scientific experts needed in Namibia’s agricultural sector, he said. Agriculture student Angelina Operi Kanduvarisa of the Polytechnic is the first recipient of the Agra scholarship, worth N$23 000.