By Prossy Nandudu and Joshua Kato
Gayaza High School is buzzing like a busy bee hive. This is because 600 students from across the country are set be trained in the value addition of agriculture products at the 9th Annual School Farm Camp that starts today, Friday 25th to Wednesday 30th.
Food products targeted for value addition include Irish potatoes, plantain (gonja), bananas into crisps. Adding value to the three food items will be trained by the Sums Foods.
Visiting students will be trained on how to process milk into yoghurt, ice cream and other dairy products by students from Gayaza High school.
Muhinda added that the camp will offer training sessions in livestock management including making use of by-products like cow dung, which is processed into biogas and later bio slurry that is applied in the vegetable and banana farms as manure.
Other organizations that will train students include the National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE), which will show students how to add value to coffee from farm to cup. Students will also learn how to blend coffee into various coffee drinks, added Eric Sekatawa, the sales and distribution Manager at the NUCAFE.
Among the registered schools include; Bweranyagi Girl’s School in Bushenyi, Iganga Senior Secondary School, St.Katherine Secondary School, Lira, Mary Hill High School, Mbarara, St.Agatha Secondary School, and Kabale among many others.
“We plan to expose students to the value chain, show them that you can get a job as an input supplier, nursery bed operator or farm manager, under production, youth can get employment in sales, marketing, operating value addition machinery, branding packaging among others,” Sekatawa added.
Under the theme “Exploring the Entrepreneurial Opportunities along the Agriculture Value Chain”, organizers of the farm camp seek to instill in learner’s entrepreneurial skills that will support them to create income generating activities, added Muhinda.
Other skills to be imparted into participants in the camp include hairdressing and cosmetology to be spearheaded by Movit products, while animal health and irrigation technologies will be showcased to students by Norbrook and AVSI –a Dutch funded organization respectively.
Dr. Moses Setende from Norbrook Uganda Limited said that 70% of students live in urban areas, of which many have no idea where meat they eat comes from or how the animal is handled or treated.
“Our participation in the camp is to teach students the livestock value chain with a focus on disease management and prevention. We shall also show students some first aid treatment given to animals as they seek services from a qualified veterinary doctor,” Setenda said.
At the same event, Setenda also handed over a check worth sh24m towards the organization of the school camp.
The Focal Person for the School Farm Camp and Program Associate at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Martin Ameu said through partnerships there will be an increased awareness of the need to increase production for food security and jobs.
He said that through partnerships, FAO continues to sensitize the masses by encouraging production for food security for nutrition and sustainable production to protect the environment which will lead to a better life, Ameu explained.
“The School farm camp provides an opportunity to engage the youth to participate in the elimination of hunger and creating jobs and we think the farm camp will increase youth participation in the overall food systems approach that focuses on elimination of hunger, promoting sustainable production among others.
Deputy Head teacher Annet Kabogoza Musoke explained the different activities lined up during the camp which include;
Training of student trainers under the dairy unit, farm tour, visit model farmers and agro processing factories such as Rano Farm Busunju, Zuri Model Farm Namayumba, and One acre farm Entebbe, NUCAFE factory in Namanve
and Kyanja Agriculture Research Farm among others among others.
History of the school farm camp
Muhinda explained that the idea of the camp was initiated by Ronald Ddungu and Brian Kibirige, then teachers at the school. The idea was hatched by the two following a visit to a Future Farmers Convention in the USA, an annual event that brings together young people to discuss agriculture related issues.
At the school the idea was actualized in 2014, with 100 students who would stay at school for three days, but has since grown to a five days camp with more schools on board.
The aim according to Muhinda was to train youth in scientific approaches from improved nutrition of livestock and better crop production processes, introduce the youth to crop livestock integration mechanisms so as to enhance food security and nutrition in schools and within smallholder farms in their communities;
And to propose recommendations for integrating farming within the curriculum as a strategy for skilling youth in agribusiness but also to train the youth in different approaches of adding value to agricultural products among others.
Victoria Ssekitoleko, former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Judge of the Best Farmers Competition and an Old Girl of Gayaza etc has supported the initiative since it started. “Uganda is a largely young population, and two, the country depends on agriculture as a leading income earner. We wanted to capture these young children at an early age,” Ssekitoleko says. Overall, at least 6,000 students from schools across the country have passed through the farm camp.
Dairy grows
One of the most successful enterprises under the annual school farm camp is dairy. At the moment, Gayaza High School has got a fully equipped dairy farm, with over 30 cattle. Under the project, other schools too have got a share of dairy cows.
“The learners started by visiting institutions and farmers who are engaged in dairy farming,” says Victoria Ssekitoleko. In 2015, a visit to Njeru Stock Farm, a government owned enterprise left the 53 Senior Two girls and 10 teachers of Gayaza High School wondering about what they can do together with the school to improve the dairy farming processes at Gayaza High School. Seeing the good looking cattle with a high yield we all wondered about the processes of scientific cattle management that we needed to adopt at our school farm for the much needed improvement.
Thanks to late Dr.D.K.N.Semambo, then Executive Director- National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank ( NAGRC&DB) the chief host and the staff of the Njeru Stock Farm for arranging this visit that enabled the students learn practically, the science of improved nutrition for the dairy cattle. Ssemambo heavily supported the school farm camp initiative until his death in 2021.
Activities for this year’s school farm camp
Muhinda explained that on day one, there will be a training of student trainers under the livestock and vegetable growing unit, urban farming, forestry and the use of machinery on the farm.
“These will then train other students in the course of the farm camp. Our experiences is that students learn from each other faster than from teachers alone,” Muhinda explained.
The second day, there will be a farm tour for the guest of honor, official opening of the farm camp, inspirational talks, leadership development workshop, professional development and camp Olympics.
On Day three, there will be a visit to model farms and agro factories such as Rono Farm Busunju, Zuri Model farm Namayumba,One acre farm Entebbe road ,NUCAFE coffee processing factory in Namanve and KCCA’s Kyanja Agricultural Research Center.
Day four will be characterized with training in value addition onto Dairy products to produce yoghurt and ice cream, cosmetics, vegetable fruit juice, banana and potato crisps, bakery and coffee processing.
While day five will take care of training in Business modeling and proposal writing, school projects, pitch challenge, exhibitions which will climax the farm camp.
Martin Ameu, the Focal point person and program associate at the Food and Agriculture Organization emphasized the need of partnerships which he said can deliver the country from hunger.
Adding that by targeting the youth, FAO wants to increase awareness among the youth on food security and hunger situations so that they can appreciate initiatives being exposed to them.
He also highlighted some of their initiative with the youth at Gayaza High during the school farm camps which included the construction of a greenhouse facility, to teach students both traditional and latest farming methods of especially high value crops like vegetables.
He added that FAO also supported the youth in the development of a wood lot composed of Eucalyptus trees that are now ready for harvest, to show students the benefits of commercial tree planting among other initiatives, added Ameu.
At this year’s school farm camp, AVSI will train students about irrigation both modern and traditional and also emphasize the need for irrigation in food security, now that the world over is battling effects of climate change, of which Uganda hasn’t been spared.
According to Racheal Kemigisha the monitoring and evaluation officer at AVSI Foundation, apart from school, they are targeting youth between 18 to 30 years for training in various disciplines and skills that help them navigate through the unemployment situation in the country today.
Students speak out
Tracy Waniroth, a Senior Six student, who joined the camp in S.2 shared her experience adding that during her vacation, she hopes to set up her own enterprise, Waniroth said that she has acquired skills in dairy management from milking, to the production of biogas and the use of bio slurry, a left over product from biogas to fertilize the banana and vegetable gardens.
“Before the camp, we were doing vegetable farming. At the camp, we learnt about piggery, and into it and as another business, with plans to add poultry production,” explains Joseph Galiwango, from Bombo SS.
Annabella Ainembabazi, a Senior Four student at Gayaza High School, said milking a cow is one of the best things she has experienced at the camp.
“I am super excited about this camp, I can’t wait to learn and experience many new things and teach my siblings,” she told New Vision.
Benefits at a glance
-Over 6,000 students trained in agriculture
-Dairy cattle given out to schools, and now multiplying
-Many schools are now producing their own food including vegetables, eggs
-Schools have taken up agriculture as a business
