Prime
Renovation of Bukalasa Agriculture College takes shape
A section of Bukalasa College. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The college also has planned outreach programmes, which will community members learn from the demonstration farms at the facility.
The refurbishment of Bukalasa Agriculture College is nearly complete, with government now installing modern equipment in different buildings.
The renovation of the college started in March 2020 under the Skills Development Project funded by the World Bank.
The college is supposed to have a fully-fledged farm department with a milk processing unit, zero grazing structures, broiler barn, feed mill, piggery unit, agro- processing unit, and poultry section, among other structures and implements.
According to Mr Gelvan Kisolo Lule, the college principal, the construction of the structures is complete and now government has embarked on the delivery for specific implements such as tractors, laboratory equipment, feed mill and milk processor, among other farm implements.
Mr Kisolo Lule said after the renovation, the college, which was recently elevated to a centre of excellence, will deliver standard farm training programmes that meet the global agriculture demands.
Benefits
“Modern farming is about the use of improved skills, use of mechanised systems to boost output. The machinery is timely and will ensure that more students have access to the farm machinery,” he said in an
interview last week
The principal also said the college’s curriculum has already been improved to match the skilling programme.
“We shall now have a variety of short courses targeting both the ordinary farmers and students at certificate level including courses in feed formulation, crop production, livestock production, agro-processing, occupational health and safety, food safety, feed formulation and business management, among others,” he added.
The college also has planned outreach programmes, which will community members learn from the demonstration farms at the facility.
Mr Joseph Ssebayiga, a resident of Bukalasa Parish, believes that opening up the college to the community is a welcome idea.
“As members of the community, we have been asking about the relevancy of the agriculture training college if the community is locked out from accessing the skills,” he said in an interview.
Background...Curriculum review
Government in 2017 rolled out a curriculum review process at Bukalasa Agriculture College. The college teamed up with the Dalhoisie University – Canada to support the review process and ensure the re-tooling of all the teaching staff.
