{"id":7546,"date":"2018-12-06T12:55:40","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T12:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/?p=7546"},"modified":"2018-12-06T12:55:40","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T12:55:40","slug":"william-r-tolbert-college-of-agriculture-99th-commencement-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/william-r-tolbert-college-of-agriculture-99th-commencement-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Agriculture College"},"content":{"rendered":"

Graduates Asked to \u2018Make One New Product Each Day,\u2019 As College Adds More Programs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Madam Jeanine Cooper, Founder and Senior Managing Partner of FABRAR Liberia Incorporated, an agriculture company, has extoled graduates of the Williams R Tolbert College of Agriculture & Forestry, University of Liberia, to keep in mind society will look up to them, for not just food production, but as anchors of Liberia\u2019s development.
\nMadam Cooper said graduates can help end food insecurity in Liberia by doing something as simple as \u201cplanting at least a seed every year. She admonished the graduates to be creative and make use of existing resources in order to contribute to food production and the preservation of the Liberian forest.\"\"
\n\u201cYou are the lucky generation that starts your career with technology literally at your fingertips. With your cell phone, you are part of the 81 % of Liberians who have such access; part of the 75% of Liberians who can access the Internet,\u201d she said. You have the knowledge, the resources and technology is here to help you,\u201d she said. \u201cMake one new product at least once a year.\u201d
\nMadam Cooper said the graduates should see the proliferation of new products on the Liberian market as an opportunity to demonstrate their value as technicians in the areas of Agriculture and Forest, noting \u201cthere are many opportunities in food production, preservation and forest management that young Liberians can take advantage of.\u201d
\nThe keynote speaker said she believes there are a lot of technological advances in the 21st Century that agriculture and forest technicians can hinge on to reduce the food insecurity in Liberia and keep the country green, emphasizing that \u201cLiberians are creative people who could social media such as Facebook to launch a successful business.\u201d
\n\u201cClass of 2018, instead if listing to all the different juicy stories of how bad things are, think about the opportunities that ou have because you are the greatest generation of Liberians,\u201d said Ms. Cooper to thunderous applause. \u201cLiberians have never let challenges define them. If you don\u2019t believe me, think back a few years, when you were just beginning your university journey.\u201d
\nShe said the graduates should be encouraged by the demand for agricultural products on the urban markets in Liberia and get involved with the production of goods and services in the areas of Agriculture and Forestry.
\nThe Founder of FABRAR Liberia Incorporated called on individuals with agricultural skills to help in the production of healthy and green products.
\n\u201cYour social networks of family and friends, extended family and friends of friends–these people will help you to identify and capitalize on opportunities,\u201d she said. \u201cSome will advise you and some will pay. They will help you. Liberians are endowed with helpful enablers which is a spirit of invincibility and pride.\u201d
\nThe College awarded undergraduate degrees to 458 students, including 315 in General Agriculture, 93 in General Forestry, 43 in Agronomy and seven in Home Science and Community Development.
\nFor his part, the valedictorian of the William R. Tolbert College of Agriculture and Forestry called for robust improvements in the quality of education at all levels in Liberia.\"\"
\nMr. Spencer Keifa Kamara underscored the importance of improving the faculty at the University of Liberia if the University is to achieve its dream to be among the top twenty universities in West Africa in 7 years.
\nMr. Kamara charged the University to stick to and perfect its educational policies and create a good learning atmosphere by embracing research and development and opening a central research lab at its Fendall Campus, adding, \u201cThe need for more Faculty with PhDs and improved salary are cardinal.\u201d
\nConvening the convocation for the William R. Tolbert College of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Moses Zinnah, Dean of the Williams R. Tolbert College of Agriculture & Forestry narrated several accomplishments the college achieved over the last year.
\nDr. Zinna thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and the African Development Bank (AFDP) for constructing a modern academic complex, recognized the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for providing internship training opportunities in food safety and quality control at its National Standard Laboratories for students in the Department of Home Science and Community Development, and lauded the Regional Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) for providing eight graduates teaching Assistantship (GTA) fellowships for faculty members in the College of Agriculture & Forestry to pursue their PhD degrees in various agricultural disciplines in selected highly rated African Universities
\nHe also expressed hope for the University of Liberia to start graduate programs in Agronomy, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Agricultural and Extension Education, Animal Science and Agriculture Engineering by 2021.
\nDr. Ophelia Inez Weeks, President of the University of Liberia, described the College as \u201cThe Bread Basket College\u201d and called on graduates to provide food for Liberians, protect the country\u2019s forest, and prevent climate change.
\n\u201cOur country is blessed with water, sunshine, and land,\u201d said Dr. Weeks said in her routine greetings to graduates and guests attending the graduation. \u201cMake use of these resources and feed every Liberian and keep our country green.\u201d
\nThe William Richard Tolbert College of Agriculture is an offshoot of a partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization over fifty years ago.
\nThe College was opened at the university in 1962 and it has since been making a significant impact in producing technicians in the fields of Agriculture and Forestry.
\nPresently there are five (5) undergraduate (BSc) degree-granting departments and one (1) non-degree granting department in the College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Liberia.
\nThese include the Departments of General Agriculture, General Forestry, Agronomy, Home Science and Community Development, Wood Science and Technology and non-degree granting Department of Agricultural Extension.<\/p>\n

By: George Y. Sharpe<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graduates Asked to \u2018Make One New Product Each Day,\u2019 As College Adds More Programs Madam Jeanine Cooper, Founder and Senior Managing Partner of FABRAR Liberia Incorporated, an agriculture company, has extoled graduates of the Williams R Tolbert College of Agriculture & Forestry, University of Liberia, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":52,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Sumo Charles D","author_link":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/author\/5c1969f41eff7aa5\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}