By Ayiga Ondoga
BRITISH Council has entered a partnership to improve the quality of honey in the country.

“We have entered a partnership agreement with Bee Natural who are partnering with Uganda Industrial Research Institute, to improve the quality of honey products in Uganda,” Sital Dhillon, director, British council said.

The ceremony, which took place at the Council offices in Kampala on Tuesday, saw Dhillon with Bee Natural chief executive director, Maria Odido and the director, production systems, Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Noble Banadda, sign the three-year programme.

Dhillon said the programme was signed under the Africa Knowledge Transfer Partnerships that initiates and supports links between higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK.

The project, he added, will be based at the company’s plant in Arua and will focus on improving honey processing efficiency.

This will be through analysis of the entire value chain.

The programme was designed to help businesses improve their productivity and competitiveness using scientific knowledge, technology and skill available from HEI through collaborating projects between institutions and private sector companies, Dhillon said.

“In Uganda, the programme has five projects and has achieved tangible results: in the improvement of production processes at Uganda Clays which has enabled the firm meet customer orders; improvement of heating methods at Mpanga Tea Estate in Fort Portal and AMFRI Fruit Drying Plant at Ntinda,” he outlined.

British Council has partnered with Makerere University, Uganda Industrial Research Institute and Bank of Uganda to advance knowledge transfer in Uganda through a symposium to be held this October.

The council will act as a support organisation where a young graduate will be employed by a firm to work on a specific project, supervised by two officials from the University and the partnering firm.

“The Partnership model applies to both natural sciences and the humanities and can work in areas of improving business or social change management,” Dhillon said.

The research Institute’s Banadda said professionalising of businesses and improvement of products through quality control was vital for success.

“As a lead agency for industrialising the country, our role is to promote quality of processes and improve marketing,” he added.