By Gad Masereka
Mukono: Ruth Nankabirwa, the government chief whip, has appealed to schools to always teach students agricultural skills which will help them after their studies. She added that agriculture being the backbone of Uganda, it should be taught at the early age which will improve Ugandans’ farming skills.
While addressing students of St. Mary’s High School Mukono in Kalungu district on Monday, Nakabirwa praised the school for having a school garden and said that “Students should be allowed to access the school gardens not only as a learning tool but also as one of the ways of providing the school with food.” She added that “When the school has enough food, it will not feed only the students but also the teachers hence reducing expenses.”
She also advocated for other schools that had abandoned farming practices and lessons to resume them and try to maintain them as the good area for students to apply their skills of farming. Nankabirwa said that these farming skills will increase the opportunities of the young generation especially the girls. She urged students to always have open minds, because it will help them expand their opportunities because they cannot determine what they will become in the future if agriculture is neglected. She noted that “Yes; you can have science and technology. You can have computers, you can invent many things, but we shall never invent Matooke, we shall never invent cassava, we shall never food.” She noted that besides raising crops and animal products, students need to learn the associated marketing functions that add value and package them for the final consumer.
