Over 30 students from Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) under the student leadership were on 21st February, 2019 flagged off to Arua District for an outreach program to sensitize and train farmers about modern technologies in Climate Smart Agriculture.
The students were flagged off by the Principal CAES Prof. Bernard Bashaasha, the College Registrar Mr. Obura Edward and the Team Leader Ms. Vianney Baguma for the three-day activity (22nd-24th February, 2019).
The outreach was sponsored by the CAES Students’ Council and the college staff at an estimated budget of UGX11million.
The students President Ms. Hajara Nantume said the overall objective of the outreach was to engage with community leaders on possible ways of establishing a university field centre for dissemination of new, improved or modern agricultural techniques in Arua region.
“The theme of this outreach is to sensitize and train farmers about modern in climate smart agriculture. In a bid to extend our knowledge to the people of Arua, groups of students from the different courses developed different subthemes to train farmers on such as; Soil fertility management and organic farming, Agro forestry, Nutrition assessment and education, Post-harvest handling and Value addition and marketing,” Ms. Hajara explained.
The students' Publicity Secretary Mr. Martin Kasirye noted that Arua is one of the rural areas in Uganda that is experiencing livelihood challenges of food insecurity, poverty and unemployment due to uncertain weather conditions, which have discouraged farming.
He stressed that there is a potential of harnessing the capacity of the farmers from Arua, in order to advance development through job creation and promoting food security by disseminating climate smart agricultural techniques to enhance adoption and increase resilience to climate change.
“This can be possible by creating a venue for spreading modern organic and weather independent techniques to small holder farmers through demonstrations during the training.
The community is mostly relying indigenous information systems to cope with the changing climate because they have little access to climate smart agriculture technical knowledge, making them continuously experience weather-related stress in farming,”. Martin narrated.
With an outreach program and establishment of a university field site, propagation and dissemination of new modern farming techniques, agriculture students hope it can be possible to make communities in Arua aware of the methods which can help them to overcome losses associated with traditional farming methods.
“It will also help farmers to adjust from the already failing traditional farming systems to new and modern farming systems which are independent of weather conditions. Through use of environment independent farming systems, the challenge of weather related crop farming in the region will be overcome and this shall attract more investments in agriculture by farmers,” one of the students noted.
Like Arua, most communities in Uganda derive their livelihood from agriculture and are vulnerable to weather-related stress and climate change. There is vulnerability of communities due to shortage of food in terms of quality and quantity, inadequate access to safe water, extreme dry spells and flooding of water sources among others. The need for farmers to adopt Climate Smart Agricultural technologies through creating awareness of practical modern farming techniques is one of the possible means to enhance sustainable food production while boosting income and improving livelihood.
Article compiled by:
Jane Anyango,
Principal Communication Officer, CAES
The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released lists of Successful appeals and supplementary lists. Below is a list arising from appeals of Government Sponsored candidates who have been admitted:
Makerere University and DFCU Bank have today signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bolster innovation, student leadership, research and community impact initiatives.
The collaboration which will see the equipping of the Disability Support center for students living with disabilities through the MAK run and more leadership trainings for students will begin this July.
“The MoU will strengthen research collaborations across sectors like agriculture and health and it will also support the Mutebile Centre to assist private sector growth, which is crucial in lifting Africa out of poverty,” said Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (R) flanked by Mr. Charles Mudiwa (L) makes his remarks at the MoU signing ceremony.
Speaking during the event, Mr. Charles M. Mudiwa, the DFCU Bank Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the move, noting its alignment with the bank’s mission to transform lives and support national development through four pillars: funding, financial inclusion, enterprise development, and vocational education.
“This MoU crowns years of effort and shared intent between our institutions,” he stated. Mr. Mudiwa highlighted the bank’s commitment to skilling youth through internships, curriculum development, and support for innovation hubs and centres of excellence at the university. “We consume the graduates of Makerere. In our most recent graduate intake of 87, 60% were Makerere alumni. The bank allocates around 30 internship positions annually to equip young people with the skills necessary for future roles within the institution,” Mr. Mudiwa, noted.
Representing the student body, Guild President His Excellency, Sentamu Churchill James, commended the partnership as a timely intervention that will empower youth, support SMEs, and expand internship and leadership development opportunities.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (2nd L) presents a framed portrait of the Main Building to Mr. Charles Mudiwa (C) as L-R: University Secretary-Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, 91st Guild President-H.E. Ssentamu Churchill James and Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration)-Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta witness.
“Students are the heartbeat of the university. This collaboration will empower youth and strengthen their role in national development,” His Excellency Ssentamu, said.
About MAK RUN 2025
The Makerere Run 2025 (#MakRun2025), hosted by the Makerere University Endowment Fund (MAKEF) on 17th August 2025, returns for its fifth edition as Kampala’s premier charity marathon, uniting 8,000+ runners—students, alumni, corporate teams, and elite athletes—to tackle the city’s iconic hills under the theme “Run the Hills for the Future.” This landmark event combines competitive racing with transformative impact, channeling proceeds to strengthen Makerere University’s community programs while offering unmatched branding opportunities for partners through Kampala’s largest university-led sporting spectacle.
The Mak Run, scheduled this year for August 17th, is a flagship initiative that mobilizes students, staff, alumni, and partners to raise funds for projects such as the Disability Support Unit and the Student Centre.