A team of scientists and students from Makerere University convened at Our Lady of Assumption Mitala Maria Parish in Buwama where, together with farmers from the surrounding area undertook a practical demonstration of improved silage-making technologies aimed at faster animal feed production. The outreach activity was aimed at addressing the challenge of low production in terms of milk and meat from livestock, which was attributed to low quantity and poor quality of feeds especially during the dry season, coupled with the poor production systems with limited land–intensive systems of production in the face of climate change.

The farmer field school event held on Wednesday 20^th November 2024 was organized under the theme; Stakeholder Platform: Collaborative Knowledge Co-Creation and Sharing for livestock feed Climate-Smart Innovations in Uganda. It was one of the four-year collaborative research project activities titled, “Building Capacity for Innovation and Advancement of Climate Smart Agriculture in East and Southern Africa” (CICSA-E&SA). This collaborative research project is implemented by Makerere University in partnership with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway), Maseno University (Kenya), and LUANAR and DARS (Malawi), funded by the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku)

The Principal Investigator, Dr. Dorothy Nampanzira Kalule, who is also the head of the Department of Livestock and Industrial Resources (LIR) at the College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) led the team that comprised Dr. Herbert Mukiibi from CoVAB, Prof. Vincent Muwanika from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and Dr. Esaete Josephine from the College of Education and External Studies (CEES).

In her remarks, Dr. Nampanzira observed that because of climate change, the country particularly the farming communities was experiencing challenges in sustaining productivity and in getting adequate feeds for the livestock in the dry spells.  We are looking for innovations that can sustain production she said, while emphasizing the fact that several useful practices from indigenous knowledge could be developed further for the benefit of many others.  She said as scientists, they were going to the communities to look out for such practices, have them validated, and thereafter build capacity about these practices. Silogist, the technology used in making silage was developed through such on-farm experiences to preserve pastures and ensure the availability of feeds, especially in the dry season, she noted.

One of the pillars of the project, Building Capacity for Innovation and Advancement of Climate Smart Agriculture in East and Southern Africa” (CICSA-E&SA), is the creation of a stakeholder platform involving various players in the livestock value chain, inclusive of researchers, farmers, politicians, and the church.  The outreach conducted in Mitala Maria was in line with the project’s objectives of developing a Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) platform that includes key stakeholders engaged in activities and initiatives that promote Livestock CSA practices and technologies that limit greenhouse gas emissions from Livestock. Through such fora, the stakeholders would deliberate and establish why, despite the number of innovations and technologies developed by scientists at Makerere University, farmers were still engrossed in poverty as evidenced by the lack of feeds during the dry season. The stakeholder engagement was expected to find ways of transferring these technologies to the people for adoption, leading to improved livestock productivity said, Dr. Nampanzira while explaining why the university reached out to the communities through Mitala Maria Catholic Church.

Dr. Herbert Mukiibi, the brain behind Silogist who is a veterinarian by training with an interest in the microbiology field said throughout his practice he has been exposed to the challenges faced by farmers and using literature from research at Makerere University, together with the farmers, through action research, he has come up with solutions to the existing problems faced by farmers. He noted a lot of expertise has been written in many forms of publications which unfortunately was not being used by the farmers.  As a university, we were finding ways of packaging such messages through such demonstrations to enable hands-on experience and tooling amongst the farmers.

‘In Mitala Maria, we found them with a non-commercial farm, shared the technologies that were piloted in other communities, and supported them make the farm commercial. We are here to look at what was done and enable other farmers to learn that they can turn around their farms and go commercial amidst the climate change era where farmers are increasingly getting confused with low crop and animal yields because of the scarcity of resources’ said Dr. Mukiibi. He pointed out other challenges faced by farmers like lack of nutrient recycling caused by people taking products from the farm and not having a loop of nutrients coming back to the farm leading to depletion of soils for which he said, he had come up with nutrient recycling tools so that farmers can realize high yields as it used to be. 

Prof. Vincent Muwanika who explained his background and linkages with the Sustainable Future Global Network and the Stewardship Institute of Environment appreciated the efforts by Mitala Maria parish which was engaged in several enterprises including livestock farming, banana plantations, eucalyptus growing, and others.  He said as a faith-based institution, it was the mandate of the institution to embark on empowering their faithful with the needed knowledge and skills necessary for them to generate household and ultimately church income. He said allowing the farm to be used as a demonstration for others to come and learn was important in supporting the individual household efforts to gain the skills needed to undertake enterprises for income generation.

Several livestock farmers and those with intentions of embarking on the trade participated in the day’s activities drawing valuable learning experiences. ‘I have found silage very user friendly because the cows like it very much, secondly, it makes the feed readily available’, said the cattle attendant at the Mitala Maria farm that hosted the farmer field school where the demonstration was conducted. He said he benefited from the training to further understand the process of making silage and was optimistic that he was going to do the same in his own home where he is rearing cattle.

The head of the laity Mitala Maria Mr. Bwanika informed the gathering that although the farm had been in existence for a long time, it had deteriorated. He commended the team from Makerere University who came on board to support the revitalization of the farm using several technologies according to the strategic plan of the parish. He said, with the advice of the university staff, they were able to plant the pastures, restock the farm, and were on the right path to make it a model farm for the rest to learn from.

Building Capacity for Innovation and Advancement of Climate Smart Agriculture in East and Southern Africa” (CICSA-E&SA) aims to develop a higher education multi-disciplinary curriculum in agriculture and economics, targeted to building knowledge and scientific capacity for innovation and advancement of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in East and Southern Africa through long-term partnerships between and among NMBU and four institutions in Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda. 

Written by Jacinta Nakaye

Kampala, Uganda – October 14, 2024 – Makerere University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (COVAB) is hosting a five-day Training of Trainers workshop for the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) model.  This is part of the Innovation for Sustainability and Societal relevance (INSSPIRE) project, which focuses on enhancing evidence-based education in food systems and climate change.

The workshop that brought together partners and stakeholders from various higher education institutions across Southern and Northern Africa to brainstorm innovative strategies for addressing these pressing global challenges.

During the opening session held at the Centre for Biosecurity and Global Health (CEBIGH) at CoVAB, stakeholders demonstrated their progress in implementing Real Life Learning Labs (RLLL), an experiential learning approach designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration on real-world development projects. These labs aim to tackle relevant issues in agriculture, industry, and society by equipping students with practical skills and problem-solving capabilities.

Associate Professor Robert Wamala, Makerere University’s Director of Research and Graduate Training delivered a keynote address on behalf of Vice Chancellor Makerere University Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe. He emphasized the severe impact of climate change on global food systems, particularly in vulnerable regions. “Climate change disrupts food systems globally, aggravating food security by impacting agricultural production through extreme weather events and shifting rainy seasons,” he stated. Prof. Wamala highlighted the need for transformative solutions that address the intertwined issues of food security and environmental degradation, which was on the areas to be addressed through the intervention.

The INSSPIRE project aims to stimulate innovative education and build inter-university capacity through international partnerships. By focusing on capacity building in higher education, the initiative supports staff development at participating universities in Kenya and Uganda thereby enhancing the delivery of educational modules on food systems and climate change.

 Dr. Kato Charles Drago from CoVAB who is the team lead for the INSSPIRE project at Makerere University, coordinated the workshop, which attracted  participation from institutions such as South Eastern Kenya University, the Institute for Innovation & Development of the University of Ljubljana, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Maseno University, the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana, and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, Ghana.

Prof. Frank Norbert Mwiine, the Principal of COVAB, in his address to the participants noted that Uganda’s economy largely depends on agriculture and the sector supports several families and employs a big part of the population both formally and informally including graduates from Makerere University across several disciplines. He said food systems in the country were rapidly evolving as a result of population demands amidst the increasing challenge of climate change. ‘We are glad that the INSSPIRE project plans to address this gap by strengthening food systems and adapting them to the challenges of climate change, he said.

Prof. Mwiine appreciated the support that CoVAB will receive from the project in enriching curricula for two courses under the Bachelor of Animal Production Technology (BAP) by building the capacity of  staff  to deliver modules on food systems, which he said, would make the graduates competitive in the ever-changing job market. The training of staff in curriculum enrichment and new course delivery approaches like the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), and gamification will help improve teaching and aid student’s interest and understanding of agriculture-based courses. He observed. While addressing himself on the real life-learning labs pioneered by the INSSPIRE project, he said the model will facilitate students to acquire practical skills and hence enhance their relevance in the community as the students and staff support communities to identify real-life challenges and tackle them holistically. He reaffirmed the commitment of the college leadership in moving these innovations forward, as demonstrated and that the college was ready to engage further in resource mobilization drives to propel the innovations forward.

As the workshop unfolds over the coming days, participants will deliberate on innovative strategies to transform food systems and advance climate change education, underscoring the critical importance of multidisciplinary approaches in fostering sustainable development.

Makerere University Finance Planning, Administration, and Investment Committee (FPAIC) led by Mr. Bruce Kabaasa conducted an inspection visit to the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources, and Biosecurity as part of their university-wide tour on August 27th, 2024. The interface was part of the evaluation of budget execution for the 2023/2024 financial year.

While at CoVAB, the committee interacted with the management and staff of the college led by the Principal, Prof. Frank Norbert Mwiine, including the Deans of the two Schools, Heads of Departments, Principal Investigators of several projects, at the meeting convened in the CEBIGH conference hall.

Mr. Bruce Kabaasa, who was in the company of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, and other members of the committee noted that the university was moving towards denying researchers grants that do not respond to the needs of the university or the college.  ‘Those running grants try to ensure the project activities have a relationship with the host discipline for instance by improving the lab equipment to be used in teaching and learning. The center cannot continue considering issues of sanitation yet we have some overheads accruing from some projects in the units, he said, adding that the colleges needed to operate as a human body, where what happens in one area is felt everywhere with the principal on top of the game, and involving all stakeholders who must take a keen interest in what is going on.

The FPAIC’s visit to CoVAB was part of its broader mandate to ensure financial accountability, effective planning, and proper administration within the university. The discussions that followed a presentation on the budgetary allocations of the year 2023/24 focused on the utilization of funds across various schools and departments. The meeting also reviewed the performance report for the main and off-budget expenditures, highlighting key achievements, compliance issues, challenges, and proposed solutions.

Bruce Kabaasa in his remarks emphasized the need for the college to ensure that the Grants received follow the laid down structure of the institution to benefit the ongoing teaching and learning activities. He cautioned the college that funding next year was likely to be limited hence the need to use all available resources cautiously.  Regarding requests for extra staff, he said there was no way the university was going to give extra staff without establishing what those on the ground were doing. He informed the meeting that the university was to provide some funding to improve the state of labs CAES and CoVAB.

The team noted with concern that despite the resources allocated to improve E-learning in the university, this was not moving as expected. He urged the college to make its priorities including IT-related needs known to facilitate timely and adequate planning. ‘We are here to make sure that you demand what you need, and we want everybody to play their roles, he said while emphasizing the need for teamwork in the college.  He further explained that the uptake of MakRIF funds was henceforth going to be based on the relationship between the grant received and the unit outputs like teaching and learning.

The Principal CoVAB Prof. Frank Norbert Mwiine pointed out several areas that needed to be addressed including the road accessing the Centre for Biosecurity and Global Health, the training centers at Buyana and Nakyesasa that needed to be invigorated, as well as transport challenges to enable students to go to the field for practical exposures in the field.

FPAIC mandate includes making reviews and approving proposed budget estimates from cost centers for council approval, overseeing the university’s banking and investment operations, and monitoring all expenditures under approved annual estimates. It also reviews requests for expenditures beyond approved estimates, makes recommendations, and prepares and submits the Development plans to the council.

The other role played by FPAIC is making proposals for fees and other rates to the Council, monitoring approved development programs to ensure they meet the university’s objectives, as well as maintaining an accurate, comprehensive inventory of university property. The committee also keeps records of the university’s staff establishments, conducts annual reviews of staff establishments, and makes recommendations for changes.