Uganda's Makerere University launches technology village

Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute has launched a technology village to promote productive agriculture. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Livingstone Luboobi said the establishment of the technology village will showcase improved technologies to create awareness on productive farming to students and the farming community. It will also provide an opportunity to lecturers to test multidisciplinary projects. Luboobi added that since Uganda is an agricultural country, the centre should be able to serve the university and the entire country. He challenged stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the village.

The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof.Mateete Bekunda, said outreach at Makerere had not taken off yet it helps universities to account for what they have done. "The university has not yet recognised what its outreach arm is doing. Uganda depends on agriculture and therefore, we have to do outreach to remain relevant to our customers," Bekunda said. He said the technology village is one of the tools of outreach.

The technology village was supported by seed fund from the Sasakawa African Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) through its support to the university's agriculture faculty.

Speaking at the launch of the technology village, Executive Director of SAFE, Deola Naebakaleo, said the village will enable students to acquire practical skills which they will apply in the field after the training.He encouraged the public to utilise the technology village if they are to have improvements on their farms.

The Monitor