Agriculture Department

Background

The Agriculture Department is one of the academic units under the Diploma in Instructors Technical Teacher Education (DITTE) programme at the National Instructors’ College, Abilonino. The Department admits students from a range of agricultural disciplines such as Crop Production and Management, Animal Production and Management, Forestry, Agroforestry, Agricultural Mechanization, and Agricultural Irrigation, among others. To ensure hands-on teaching and learning, the Department has established several agricultural units including Poultry, Rabbits, Piggery, Goats, Demonstration plots with irrigation systems, Zero Grazing unit, Banana plantation, Crop production fields, Mushroom unit, and Pasture land.

Programme Overview

The DITTE (Agriculture) programme is a two-semester full-time course designed to produce competent TVET agriculture instructors equipped with both pedagogical and practical agricultural skills. The curriculum integrates both theoretical and field-based learning to promote technical competence and problem-solving abilities in agricultural education and practice.

Course Units Offered

In Semester I, the following course units are offered:

  • ETSD 2102: Craft Science and Technology (General Crops Production)
  • EAGD 2102: Agricultural Economics and Marketing

In Semester II, the course units include:

  • ETSD 2205: Craft Workshop and Field Work Practice
  • ETSD 2201: TVET Specific Methods
  • EAGD 2201: Animal Products
  • EAGD 2203: Agricultural Education and Extension

Pedagogical course units complement the technical units and include:

  • EGED 2101: Introduction to Special Needs Education
  • EGED 2102: Leisure and Recreation
  • ETSD 2101: Foundations of TVET
  • EGED 2104: Entrepreneurship Skills
  • ETSD 2103: Educational Technology
  • ETSD 2301: School Practice (Recess I)
  • ETSD 2202: Educational Administration and Management
  • ETSD 2203: Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counseling
  • ETSD 2204: TVET Curriculum Development
  • School Practice (Recess II)

Assessment Criteria and Grading

Assessment of students in the DITTE (Agriculture) programme follows a continuous evaluation system as outlined below:

  • Assignments – 5%
  • Tests – 10%
  • Practical Work – 25%
  • Final Examination – 60%
  • Total – 100%

The grading system is based on a 5-point scale, with marks distributed as follows:

A (80–100) = 5.0 GP
B+ (75–79.9) = 4.5 GP
B (70–74.9) = 4.0 GP
B– (65–69.9) = 3.5 GP
C+ (60–64.9) = 3.0 GP
C (55–59.9) = 2.5 GP
C– (50–54.9) = 2.0 GP
D+ (45–49.9) = 1.5 GP
D (40–44.9) = 1.0 GP
D– (35–39.9) = 0.5 GP
E (Below 35) = 0.0 GP

Staffing in the Agriculture Department

  1. Mr. Omony Terence – Senior TVET Trainer / Head of Department 
  2. Mr. Erigu Abraham – TVET Trainer
  3. Mr. Ogwal Dickens Kenneth – Farm Manager
  4. Mr. Alex – Assistant Farm Manager
  5. Mr. Oyugi Jonald – Technician (Horticulture)
  6. Mr. Mwesygye Leonard – Technician (Livestock)
  7. Mr. Watmon Christopher – Technician (Lab & Livestock)
  8. Mr. Okiba Isaac – Farm Attendant
  9. Ms. Christine Akulu – Farm Attendant

Achievements of the Department

  • Enrolment of new students every academic year (currently 48 students: 15 female and
    33 male).
  • Emphasis on hands-on teaching with minimal classroom confinement.
  • Fencing of a 1.5-acre student plot for demonstration and practice.
  • Establishment of crop demonstration plots every academic year.
  • Construction of a goat house facilitated by the OKP Project.
  • Establishment of piggery, rabbitry, and fish pond (fish liner technology).
  • Field study tours to Rwentanga and Kitagata Farm Institutes for benchmarking.
  • Acquisition of maize huller and two grinding mills under BEAR II Project.
  • Rehabilitation of poultry house with support from VVOB.
  • Placement of students for CIP in farms, companies, and agricultural institutions.
  • Rehabilitation of banana plantation and increased field study activities.
  • Continuous support from administration for practical learning and examinations.
  • Participation of staff in CPD trainings and ATUPA conferences (Ghana 2023, Arusha 2024).
  • Production of cassava and maize (14 acres each in successive years).

Future Prospects

  • Purchase of agricultural land for mass production to sustain milling operations.
  • Initiation of dairy production.
  • Acquisition of parent hens for hatchery operations.
  • Promotion of value addition for crops and animal products.
  • Establishment of non-formal agricultural training programs.
  • Fencing of animal grazing land.
  • Strengthening the greening technology initiative.
  • Introduction of holiday and weekend training programs in DITTE Agriculture.
  • Increase in student and staff enrolment.
  • Establishment of online training programs.
  • Benchmarking and signing MoUs with host institutions for CIP and SP programs.
  • Strengthening collaborations with development partners.
  • Proposal writing to solicit funds for departmental growth.
  • Reinstatement of apiary, mushroom, and tree nursery projects.
  • Construction of staff houses for farm security.
  • Academic upgrading of agriculture staff.

Partnerships and Collaborations

  • OKP and Hanzi University (Netherlands) – supported capacity building, staff exchange, and exposure visits.
  • VVOB Education for Development – supported staff training, gender integration, farm equipment provision, and ongoing LEAP program emphasizing Project-Based Learning (PjBL), Work-Based Learning (WBL), and Career Talks through the World of Work (WoW) framework.
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