Adraa Agricultural College

Adraa Agricultural College (www.adraauganda.org) was established 2012 by the Franciscan Brothers to provide agricultural and horticultural training for farmers and communities across the Nebbi Diocese and further afield in the West Nile area and the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. 

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend at the College and to see first hand the work it is undertaking and stay in the excellent guest accommodation (more about that to come ...). 

The Bothers' Quadrangle and Guest Rooms

I have already heard for myself, when accompanying staff from Caritas on field visits the excellent name the College has and the high regard its courses and training is held in by, not only the farmers and villagers attending the courses, but also (and perhaps most importantly) from the officials working for the local government across this part of the West Nile.

The College is under the guidance of its principal, Brother Tony Dolan and it is his drive, vision, energy and commitment that have seen such amazing growth and positive change in a very few short years.

The College occupies a 50 acre site and is about 20km from Nebbi.  The site includes a large farm where the students can learn through a very practical and hands on curriculum.  It provides training in all areas of farming from soil management and conditioning, irrigation, pest and disease identification and control, crop selection and management, harvesting and crop storage, animal husbandry (pigs, cattle, goats and sheep), poultry and bee-keeping.  The training courses also focus on business planning, marketing and all aspects of budgeting and account keeping.

 

The College site

The main quadrangle with (from left to right) the teaching block, student accommodation, kitchens,
refectory and "adding value" block (under construction) and administration block

The College focuses on farming as part of a sustainable and healthy life style, which includes how to ensure home is a health homestead.  To maximise this focus it offers ongoing training and support offered through the College’s staff once students have finished their course.  Former students invited back as guest speakers and demonstrators for new students and at open days, etc.

The College maintains a strong focus on adding value to the crops the students will go onto grow or the animals they will rear.  The value adding enterprises focus on marketing skills, including identifying market gaps and exploiting opportunities for new enterprises.  These skills are delivered through a wide range of courses for the intensive 6-week course to short course of a few days focusing on particular areas of farming or skill sets.

Field classroom on soil management

The piggery

Sunflowers

Maize and bean crops

The College has good residential accommodation for the students and the students are strongly encouraged to work in large and small groups, supporting and learning from each other.  The friendships made during the course go on to serve the students well once they have left the college.  The college has a crèche which means that women are able to access the courses as they can bring their young children with them and know they will be well cared for whilst they study.



Students learning in the field

September 2016 saw first group of students on 6-week course who were self-funded.  These students have secured loans through a partnership between the college, ZEO and Centenary Bank.  They have borrowed between UGS 1,500,000 (about £350) and 2,500,000 (about £580) to pay college fees and to set up their own farming enterprise after the course to put into practice and use the skills they have gained.  The college welcomes this important innovation and has provided additional support to these students in business plan preparation and after graduation will provide ongoing support and assistance to ensure the success of this partnership.

 

A partnership such as this is a new phase in the college’s development and growth.  If successful, it will provide a new route for students to come to the college.  Up until now, most of the students have been sponsored through local and international NGO partnerships and programmes or through local government, etc.  Self-funding students means the college should become less reliant for its student body on third parties.  It should also men that other banks will be encouraged to offer special loan packages to potential future farming students.

The teaching at Adraa focuses on farmers being custodians of the land and that their responsibility is not just to provide food and income for themselves and their families today but equally to ensure that their children and their children’s children can inherit the land and equally be able to support their own families for the land.

Future developments will include how farmers and their families and communities can improve the sustainability of their core farming activity through “value adding”, i.e. this may include preparing food from their crops which can be sold at markets, establishing small businesses using other skills they have and potentially through developing eco-tourism opportunities.  

As I have seen since arriving in Nebbi at the beginning of August 2016, this area of Uganda has the most spectacular scenery and is “raw” in terms of tourism.  There is great wildlife, especially in the bird life, fantastic opportunities for trekking, great dark skies for astronomy (especially when the power fails!) and so very much more.  The West Nile is a long way from any international airport but has so much else to offer making the 6 to 7 hour road journey well worth the effort!