New training manual for agri-preneurs developed

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When the COVID‑19 lockdown ended in 2021, Grace Kyomuhendo faced an uncertain future. Her parents could no longer afford her school fees to complete Senior Four.

Unsure of her next step, she was directed to Excel‑Hort in Mbarara city, where she trained in wine production.

Today, she is processing wines and juices that are steadily gaining recognition under her label, GN Juices.

“I have started supplying my products to supermarkets. I also have some middle class clients who I supply to regularly,” Kyomuhendo says.

While her story is inspiring, it also exposes a gap. Thousands of Ugandans are embracing value addition, but there is no curriculum to ensure they attain the same quality of training.

“Across Uganda and Africa at large, there is a lot of incubation happening, but, unfortunately, we do not have a standard training manual or curriculum to use,” explains Prof. Alex Ariho, the chief executive officer of the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN).

A standard curriculum

In the first week of October, incubation experts gathered at Eureka Hotel, Ntinda, Kampala, to deliberate on creating an all‑inclusive curriculum. The deliberation was organised by AAIN.

“We brought together stakeholders from universities and training institutions to design the curriculum,” Ariho said.

The proposed curriculum aims to provide skills so that trainees in similar enterprises acquire the same foundation of knowledge.

Although the general African curriculum covers other enterprises, in Uganda, most incubates are engaged in the agriculture value chain, for example, processing juices, wines, cakes and flour‑based snacks.

“This curriculum is not only for Uganda, but for all African countries,” noted Dr Willbroad Byamukama, agriculture lecturer at Kabale University.

“It is important that incubates under the same enterprise receive similar knowledge. Emerging trends, such as consumer demand for healthier, low‑sugar products, must also be captured.”

Beyond practical skills

The curriculum could be a tool to tackle youth unemployment.

“There are so many opportunities for youth and women in agribusiness, but they are not grabbing them due to lack of training,” observed Caroline Kasone, head of training and incubation at Prime Vocational Institute, Iganga.

Kasone emphasised that the new curriculum will go beyond practical training to include financial management, human resources and general business management.

“Many incubates fail when they return to start their businesses because they were never trained to manage the supportive aspects of running a business,” she explained.

The other aspects the curriculum will cover include: enterprise selection, preparation, including basic requirements, location, licensing, hygiene, as well as marketing, branding and packaging etc.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice Ariho said the curriculum is adoptable at all levels, including universities.

“Ugandan universities produce many graduates, but in reality, they are experts in theories only. Implementation remains a big challenge. This curriculum can help bridge that gap.”

He also criticised the tendency of trainers to impose practices from developed countries that are too expensive for local farmers.

“This demotivates farmers because they don’t know where to start. We need practical, affordable approaches suitable for our context,” Ariho said.

Patrick Isabirye from Iganga, who was trained in adding value to milk, said creating a standard curriculum is welcome.

“There are many aspects that trainees have been lacking, especially in business management,” he said.