Two leading US institutions Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have lending support to establish an agribusiness training center in Ghana.

The centre, to be put up by the Africa Atlantic, a private commercial farming venture in Ghana, will be located at the Afram Plains on a 25,927 acre (10,497 ha) site on the shoreline of the Lake Volta.

The announcement was made by Africa Atlantic Chairman Issa Baluch Baluch at the Global AgInvesting’s Middle East conference in Abu Dhabi.

When completed, the agribusiness knowledge center will facilitate research and industry training of farmers as entrepreneurs as well as assist the innovation in sustainable economic, environmental and social impact designs.

“We are pleased with the cooperation we have received from the two institutions and look forward to working with their students and faculty,” said Issa Baluch who is also a Senior Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University.

Africa Atlantic will provide land and facilities while MIT will focus on engineering and management sciences, and the Science Technology and Globalization Project at Harvard Kennedy School will focus on innovative public policy frameworks and strategies.

The center is also expected to include the establishment of a multi-purpose, multi-stakeholder training facility and campus co-located on Lake Volta with Africa Atlantic’s commercial grain production farm.