8 undergraduate Students from BDU are taking an International Training in Uganda
By Berihun Tefera, Makarere University, Kampala, Uganda (Project coordinator-Ethiopia)
Eight students (four male and four female) from College of Agriculture and Environmental Science of Bahir Dar University are taking an International Training Course on Organic Agriculture in Uganda for the second time.
These undergraduate students were selected from seven departments of the college based on previous academic performance, interest and interview. The students with the coordinator of the project in Ethiopia, Mr Berihun Tefera (a lecturer in rural development department of the college), has traveled from Ethiopia and arrived at Entebbe International Air Port on 10 July 2012. The training has started on 11 July 2012. The training will be conducted for three weeks up to 31 July 2012. The total number of participants is 40, i.e. it includes 8 students each participant universities. The other universities are three from East Africa (University of Nairobi - Kenya, Makerere University-Uganda and Sokoine University of Agriculture – Tanzania) and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) from Europe.
The objectives of this training are to improve the food and income security of communities in East Africa, to promote the agro-ecosystem health through sustainable use of resources, and to empower university students and particularly female students by exposing to international training.
The training has two components. The first one is the domestic preparatory phase by e-learning (3 seminars). The second part is three weeks training supported by lectures by international guests and practical field visit in different regions of Uganda. This year’s training is the 7th time in general and for the 2nd time for Bahir Dar University and it is expected to continue for the future on annual basis during vacation time of the students.
Bahir Dar University has started its relation with ITCOA by communicating with the international coordinators and sending one representative coordinator/contact person to attend the ITCOA-2010 training and by training eight students in 2011. By the support of the university the students were also visiting Integrated Biofarm Enterprise (IBE) and Bioeconomy Africa (BEA) at Addis Ababa which are organizations promoting organic agriculture practice in Ethiopia and Africa. International Training Course on Organic Agriculture (ITCOA) has been initiated and coordinated by Michael Houser and other co-founders and the main sponsors of the training include BIOVISION and KARL KAHANE FOUNDATION among others.
For further reading follow the following links
- http://itcoa.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/participants-from-bahir-dar-university-introduce-themselves/
- http://www.boku.ac.at/9380.html
- http://www.go-organic.org/index.php?/eng/Training