Allow me to make this modest proposal: let’s repurpose Rubona Stock Farm and establish, in its place, a university of agriculture, college of agriculture, or whatever form or name is attainable.
The basis of my opinion is simple. Whereas the cause and objectives are reasonable, the idea of a government-owned farm is no longer fashionable. In our context, and according to the evidence provided by reports of the Auditor General, the stock farm is one of those areas where we invest a lot yet gain little. It operates at a loss, like many other projects we invest billions in.
The farm’s presence is mostly felt when the government plans to restock it or reconstruct some infrastructure there. The only minimal gain we get is that it still serves as an attempt at bolstering agricultural development in geography and agriculture education. Also, students and pupils frequently visit the place on school trips, and a few people have jobs there as managers, cleaners, and agricultural officers.
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Other than that, what is the contribution of the farm to Uganda Revenue Authority? How much does it contribute to the consolidated fund per year? Aside from government restocking it, we mostly hear about the farm in the news for mismanagement. As you pass by, you can see it decaying away. You don’t need to read the books of accounts to see the gross mismanagement. It’s a heap of squalor and abandonment visible in broad daylight. It welcomes you right at the gate.
This is my modest proposal: let’s establish a university of agriculture there instead.
Recently, I was thrilled with the idea of education that specifically addresses the challenges of the people. Not long ago, I visited Garissa University College. This university is in the northeast part of Kenya, near the border with Somalia. Its mandate is to research and innovate to find solutions to the desert environment of the region where it’s located, aiming to tame the desert and ensure progress in the region.
Rubona Stock Farm, located in Tooro, a highly agricultural area, should be transformed into a university with a similar mandate. The farm sits on 746.9 acres (302 ha) of farmland, which is premium! The university would be twice the size of Makerere University to begin with.
With a university there, we could have an addition of at least 3000 students at the start, which would solve the issue of abandonment we see whenever passing by the farm. Of course, where there are people, housekeeping will be done, at least at a bare minimum. That will go a long way in boosting the local economy, as the new students will need food, accommodations, and other services like printing, medical care, and scholastic supplies.
Now, these students will be paying tuition, let’s say a million each per semester. That’s 6 billion if we take it at a minimum of 3000 students. Also, these students are free labor on the farm, which must produce. Alongside the University of Agriculture, there should be a processing center for food and beverages, a mini agro-processing center. We must have trucks leaving the university with loads of packed water, yogurts, milk, cheese, beef, bacon, eggs, chicken, canned foods, powdered milk, irrigation supplies, etc.
The university should focus its strategy on synergizing multidisciplinary education and strengthening problem-specific research relevant to Tooro specifically and Uganda generally. It should help in building innovative extension systems for sustainable management of natural resources, sustainable agricultural production, and overall improvement of rural livelihoods.
The stock farm may not, but a university can provide quality education in agriculture, horticulture, cooperation, forestry, agricultural engineering, home science, and other allied disciplines. It must undertake basic, applied, and adaptive research to address current and future challenges of the farming community in Tooro particularly and Uganda generally.
It should generate appropriate technologies to support the sustainable growth of agricultural entrepreneurship and agribusiness. It must develop innovative extension strategies and formulate effective mechanisms for the transfer of technology to institutions and farmers for enhanced and sustainable agricultural production leading to improved rural livelihoods. It should also locate and protect biodiversity to preserve the agro-ecosystem of the state and to document traditional knowledge and technologies.
For the purpose of executing that mandate, I propose the following courses:
- Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
- Degree in Engineering of the Agricultural and Food Industries.
- BSc in Horticultural Engineering.
- BSc in Agribusiness.
- Agricultural Business Management program.
- Agricultural Engineering Technology.
- Agricultural Mechanical Engineering.
- Agronomic Engineering.
The same can be offered as diploma and certificate courses.
Funding:
It is my thinking that as a university, it is easier to obtain funding from partnerships and collaborations from a multitude of partners than as a government-owned stock farm. From tuition, billions can be obtained for the day-to-day running of the university.
The farm production, which must be run strictly on a private business, profit-run model, should be a prominent part of the university, with students learning hands-on while providing free human resources. Of course, to sustain consistent production, the university will offer a market to local producers of milk, pork, chicken, etc., who adhere to set standards.
Students from within the district and region should be given tuition subsidies provided they prove that after attaining their education, they intend to directly get involved in agricultural development activities within their communities of origin.
This can be achieved through a public-private partnership if the government is not willing to fully fund the idea. A private firm can take over, construct the university infrastructure and the production process lines under government subsidization. The land, farm, and all that is put there are the property of the government, and should the deal not work out, the farm and university still belong to the government.
The government can pay critical staff in teaching, but others must be paid by the business, like every other private entity pays its staff.
Rationale:
Whatever the government is seeking to gain from maintaining a stock farm, it would still get from the university. The university can be a center for agricultural excellence and inspire increased productivity in Bunyangabu district and Tooro region as a whole.
This is not a perfected idea. It is a modest proposal that anyone can consider working on, perfecting, and following up with the hope that one day, the loss-making Rubona Stock Farm can be turned into a busy, productive, and profit-driven university for the benefit of the people of Bunyangabu district, Tooro region, and Uganda.
For God and my country.
The writer is a patriot, development enthusiast, and leader.
