BERNICE SAINEPO, LARMAT 4TH YEAR STUDENTS SHARES HER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE AT
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (ITCOA)
The International Training Course on Organic Agriculture (ITCOA) is a programme that seeks to
train students on the key principles and practices of Organic Agriculture (OA) and enabling them
to gain theoretical and practical innovation management, knowledge and skills. This year
applicants went through competitive selection which included: filling an application letter, essay
writing and oral interview. Among other 40 students from different countries, I got admission
into the programme to represent my country.
This year’s theme was: Sustainably Food Secure - Organic Agriculture and Vision 2040. The
training involved intensive e-learning programme prior to the field work. Students were required
to read through sent material and answer questions on OA based on their own countries. A blog
was created and this provided a platform for interaction with other students and to gain an
overview on the state of OA in respective countries.
In July this year, the trainees gathered at Makerere University, Uganda. The introductory portion
involved various integration workshops and class lectures. We were taught on the current organic
certification process in Uganda, its challenges and way forward. It also included development of
the stakeholder chain as well as formulation of key indicators of agroecosystem health (AESH).
Trainees were divided into 3 groups based on the components to be investigated during the
implementation of the field work. These were: ecological health; economic health; and social
health.
In soil fertility management, trainees were involved in making of compost, vermicomposting;
and in soil and water conservation that included contouring and digging of check dams. In
addition they were inducted in the value chain process whereby organic juice was prepared.
The implementation of the field work was done in Bushenyi District on the western side of
Uganda. Based on the farming system of the area; coffee-banana system, trainees were exposed
to the ecological, social and economic components in this smallholder farms. Semi- structured
interviews were held, soil samples collected and various tools like the daily clock were use to
find out how many hours a day a farmer works and a seasonal calendar to identify how many
months a year a farmer is food secure.
Through analysis of data, trainees held field work sessions with the individual farmers and gave
them advisory techniques to improve their farms. A stakeholders’ workshop that involved
presentation of student scientific posters, discussing pertinent issues of OA in the country and the
way forward was held. All in all, the training was informative and contributed greatly to trainees
as changed agents.