Students work in a sukuma wiki vegetable garden. PHOTO/FILE
Agriculture is defined as the activities carried out by man to look after valuable plants, birds, fish, and animals.
An estimated 70 percent of households in Uganda depend on agriculture for food and income.
Agriculture plays a very important role in our country’s economy and it is impossible that it should be kept out of our education system.
There ought to be a garden at every school where children get practical training in various farming skills. Otherwise, what is the point of telling our youth to take up farming upon leaving school when the school never gave them any practical farming skills?
In his essay, titled “Education for Self-reliance,” one of Africa’s greatest teachers and former president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, emphasised the importance of a garden at every school for children to learn the science of crop production and animal husbandry.
He even said the school garden should be able to raise some income to subsidise the school’s capitation grant.
“The school’s accounting books should indicate money earned from the sale of beans, eggs, and other items from the school farm and how it was spent,” wrote the great educator.
There is so much that the children can learn about crop and livestock production from the school garden. They can learn about soil erosion prevention, compost pit making, manure application, weed control, pests control, zero-grazing of animals, poultry, irrigation, vegetable production, records keeping, and a whole range of agronomical practices.
The Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija, last week called upon Ugandans to produce more coffee. But, how much do our youth in the coffee-growing regions know about the best practices of the crop’s production?
How many schools keep a coffee demonstration garden on their premises?
Coffee is such an important agricultural commodity that if we produced it in sufficient quantities we could fully finance our national budget without any need to borrow any money.
Uganda is said to be the origin of Robusta coffee (Uganda Coffee Development Authority handbook).
We have the potential to be the world’s greatest producers of the crop if we devote enough training and research to its production.
It is a crop that our school children should be taught about right from their infancy --- which seedlings to plant, the best agronomical practices, harvesting and hygienic post-harvest practices, the advantages of coffee consumption, records keeping, and marketing.
There is so much that the children can learn about crop and livestock production from the school garden.
Michael J. Ssali
Farmer’s Say
