Govt spends Shs5b on model farm institute in Kalangala

A project set up to improve infrastructure at Ssese Farm Institute in Kalangala District has started to take shape, exciting both residents and local leaders.
Launched in March by Ms Roy Abeine Muhwezi, the assistant commissioner of Technical Education the Ministry of Education, the project will see the setting up of a modern milking shade, zero-grazing unit and milk processing unit.
 BMK Construction Group is the firm contracted to undertake construction works at a tune of Shs4.8b.

Another Shs2.2b will be spent on procuring training materials, a 32-seater bus and a tipper truck. 
The project, funded by the World Bank under the Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP), seeks to improve dilapidated structures and establish modern farming and teaching equipment at the beneficiary institutions.
 Mr Willy Lugoloobi, the Kalangala District chairperson, said he is optimistic that the project will improve the quality of graduates churned out of the institute, especially those doing livestock-related courses.

“There is no doubt that this project will promote hands-on training and marketable skills, which some students here have been lacking,” he said in an interview on October 30.
Mr Abdul Nsubuga, the project supervisor in  the  Ministry of Education, said construction works were expected be finished by end of last month, however, Kalangala being a hard-to-reach area, the project has suffered some delays occasioned by  challenges in transportation of materials, scarcity of committed casual workers, heavy rains, as well as the Covid-I9 lockdown.

“The contractor has tried to move faster and work is currently at 60 per cent and we expect him to handover the project by end of November this year,” he said
Early this month, when Ministry of Education officials inspected construction works at Uganda Technical College in Bushenyi District, where a four-storey hostel is being constructed, they were shocked to discover that the contractor had done only 13 per cent of the work, with only three months of the contract period left.

 Other institutions which are benefiting from similar projects include Bukalasa Agriculture College in Luweero District, Rwentanga Farm Institute in Mbarara, and Kaberamaido Technical Institute in Kaberamaido District.
With improved infrastructure, Mr Vincent Abasa, the principal of Ssese Farm Institute, said the institute will increase its intake as they plan to offer advanced skills compared to previous years.

“With added infrastructure and training materials, Ssese Farm Institute will now be offering livestock and business management courses at a certificate level, which has not been the case before,” he said.
Ssese Farm Institute, with a total enrolment of 300 students, was established in 1964 as small farm school and later in 2011, it was elevated to a Farm Institute.
 The institute offers numerous agricultural skills both to the students and informal trainings to the surrounding community.