TEACHING AND UTILIZING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN UGANDA
Extension Education
Bob Waldorf
County Extension Coordinator
University of Georgia
Homer
Abstract
Uganda, Africa is considered the "Pearl of Africa" because of its rich abundance of natural resources. Yet, millions of people from the East African country (Image 1) are starving each day because of the lack of knowledge, skills and tools to produce food sustainably. Farming practices for the majority of the population consist of tilling the land manually with hoes and intercropping several crops on small portions of land. UGA Cooperative Extension Agents from Banks and Jackson County were invited to Eastern Uganda to present practices and information that specifically address improving soil fertility and crop yields. The agents developed a two-day workshop that focused on sustainable agriculture which hosted farmers from the 6 major regions of Uganda. All expenses and fees for each participant were covered by donations raised by Jackson and Banks ANR agents. 16 participants attended the workshop in Mukono, Uganda which provided in-class information and field demonstrations. Following the workshop, the agents visited individually with the participants on their farms to provide on-site instruction. From evaluations, 100% of participants stated this seminar was their first professional agricultural education class. 100% of participants planned to implement at least one practice from the workshop within a year. And, with a response indicating a need for further education in animal rearing, beekeeping and pesticide handling, a return trip has been scheduled for 2014.
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Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.
A poster file has not been provided
Authors: B. Waldorf, S. Ingram
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Waldorf, B. County Extension Coordinator, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30547
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Ingram, S. County Extension Agent, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30549