Members of Gulu University Academic staff, other universities and TVET institutions in company of district technical staff, Operation Wealth Creation and beneficiaries at the launch last week. Photo by Arnest TumwesigeBy Arnest TumwesigeGulu: Gulu University has launched an ambitious agenda to use the agricultural sector as a launchpad to place young people in rewarding jobs and local opportunities.Prof. Duncan Ongeng of Gulu University said there are many young people who are not economically engaged, and they are increasingly becoming a social problem.
“When you look around, agriculture provides an economic platform to make them vibrant. But the way agriculture is organized doesn’t give incentives for young people to get engaged in it,” Prof. Ongeng explained.
He attributed this challenge to practitioners in agricultural development who have not understood young people well enough to position them appropriately in the agricultural value chain so they can become economically productive.
Working in the districts of Nwoya, Lamwo, and Omoro, with over 2,000 farmers grouped in clusters, the beneficiaries undergo business mentorship, guidance and counseling on mindset change, literacy training, and agronomic best practices for two years.
Prof. George Openjuru Ladah, the Vice Chancellor of Gulu University, emphasized the importance of the program in transforming agriculture, targeting young people who are in school, out of school, in vocational institutions, or living as refugees.Openjuru added that the program seeks to support financially constrained young people with good academic backgrounds by offering them scholarships.Posted in Agriculture
