By Ibrahim Ruhweza
The Bukalasa Agricultural College management wants to transition into an agronomy university so that it becomes a centre of agricultural excellence.
The college is a public tertiary training institution operated and administered under the agriculture and education ministries.
The institution was established by the then colonial government in 1929 as a cotton breeding centre. It has since metamorphosed into an agricultural training college, with a strong reputation for producing front-line agricultural extension workers in crop production, agriculture, animal husbandry, agribusiness and horticulture.
The college’s experts say all these need to be operated by farmers, who are well-versed and can be able to produce quality food, as well as follow standards of food production.
Recently, commissioners from the Education Policy Review Commission paid a courtesy visit to the college, seeking views on what the new education recommendations to replace the 1992 white paper should look like.
Charles Yudra, the assistant academic registrar of the college, says making Bukalasa a technical and quality control centre for agricultural training will foster standards in food production.
He says once Bukalasa turns into an agricultural university, it will oversee or spearhead all other agricultural training colleges in Uganda, in terms of curriculum quality, assessments and awards.
“Bukalasa can be a university that oversees other agricultural colleges in Uganda offering diplomas or certifi cates,” Yudra says.
Number of agricultural colleges
Uganda has numerous agricultural institutions, such as Kaberamaido for agro-processing, Ssese Farm Institute in Kalangala district for animal production and Rwentanga Farm Institute for crop production.
Uganda’s population is almost 47 million and is projected to grow to 50 million by 2030. All these people need well-skilled and equipped farmers to produce quality food. Yudra understands that unsustainable agricultural practices can lead to food insecurity, economic instability for farmers and social inequality.
He says implementing sustainable agricultural practices can help mitigate negative impacts and promote long-term environmental and social health.
“Cancer cases are increasing because our quality control in food production is not enough. Agrochemicals are bought in the market by unprofessionals, who apply them in the gardens, then the food is harvested and carried to markets,” he says.
“You go to the market and buy food, but nobody observes the quality of the production process,” Yudra adds.
The expert notes that the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is supposed to inspect all the foods sent to the market, but it does not have enough manpower.
Yudra alleges that UNBS only looks at products from factories and industries, forgetting the open market, where fresh agricultural products are sold.
He says the producers are unprofessional, since they buy and use chemicals without the proper guidance or being monitored.
“You go to buy tomatoes in the market and they are full of chemicals. Tomatoes are cut fresh as salads and we end up eating chemicals. That is probably why cancer cases have increased in Uganda,” Yudra says.
He attributes the problem to the lack of an institution that can enforce quality control in food production and consumption.
Yudra is convinced that the institution will spearhead quality in food production and provide vast knowledge to the general public, which he sees as lacking in the country.
Kisolo Lule, the principal of the college, says the university will be able to equip learners with hands-on skills.
He says several academic institutions are not dedicated to providing hands-on skills for agriculture students, because they are teaching numerous other courses.
Lule wants at least each person to have vast knowledge about farming if the quality of production and consumption is to be maintained.
“Every person getting trained in farming should be linked to a professional. That is what is missing in the sector,” he says.
Sharon Apio Ibedo, the head of the department in agribusiness, says to help learners understand and practice supervision and evaluation, the college allows each student to own a farm.
“By the time the students graduate, they would have received practical and professional skills, which they can use to boost quality mass production in their respective communities,” she says.
Ibedo suggests that agriculture should be taught at all levels and be mandatory if Uganda is to develop respect for farming.
Grace Anyango, a lecturer, notes that in primary and secondary schools, agriculture is used as a punishment, which causes learners to develop a negative attitude towards it.
Contribution of agriculture
Investors consider Uganda’s agricultural potential to be among the best in Africa. The country has low-temperature variability, fertile soils and two rainy seasons, leading to multiple crop harvests per year.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Uganda’s fertile agricultural land has the potential to feed 200 million people.
Eighty percent of Uganda’s land is arable, but only 35% is being cultivated. In 2022/2023 financial year, agriculture accounted for about 24% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 35% of export earnings.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 68% of Uganda’s working population is employed in agriculture.
What NCHE says
Saul Waigolo, the public relations director for the National Council for Higher Education, says Bukalasa is currently a public college.
He says if it wants to become a university, the education ministry has to take the proposal to Parliament for it to be approved.
“The process is not like that of private institutions, which are handled by the National Council for Higher Education,” Waigolo adds.
Challenges
The college has a mini fruit-processing factory, which was commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni in February last year.
The factory was supposed to maximise profits by working with private partners. It would also give students practical skills and provide market for fruits grown within the community.
However, according to the principal of the institution, Kisolo Lule, to date, the factory has not begun work. The contractor, unfortunately, did not meet the proper procurement standards and so it is not properly spaced.
The entrance of the raw materials is also used as the exit. Lule says this is not proper enough to produce products that are clean enough for consumption.
A standard processing factory should be spacious and the raw materials, which are the final product, should have a separate exit in order to maintain hygiene.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Lule (right) showing the commissioner in the Education Policy Review Commission, Yusuf Nsubuga, a machine used to teach students at the college during the commission’s visit on January 18.
