Bukalasa graduates 1,195 as govt backs agricultural skills drive
Speaking at the ceremony, the college principal, Gilvan Kisolo, said Bukalasa's training approach emphasises practical skills through field practice, on-farm training, classroom learning and demonstrations.
The graduates, who included finalists from last year, received their awards during the college's 60th graduation ceremony held on May 29, 2026, at the institution's campus in Luwero district. (Photos by Frederick Kiwanuka)
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Bukalasa Agricultural College has passed out 1,195 diploma and certificate graduates, with government urging them to become drivers of Uganda's agricultural transformation through professionalism, integrity, discipline and innovation.
The graduates, who included finalists from last year, received their awards during the college's 60th graduation ceremony held on May 29, 2026, at the institution's campus in Luwero district.
Speaking at the ceremony, the college principal, Gilvan Kisolo, said Bukalasa's training approach emphasises practical skills through field practice, on-farm training, classroom learning and demonstrations.
Kisolo said the college is also collaborating with other institutions and private sector players to ensure students gain current field experience and access to vital resources.
Presiding over the ceremony, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama, urged the graduands to uphold professionalism, integrity, discipline and patriotism in their workplaces.
Kasura, who was represented by MAAIF undersecretary Mary Aacha, encouraged the graduates to use the skills they had acquired to become job creators, innovators, extension workers and ambassadors of commercial agriculture.
He also urged them to embrace commercial agriculture, value addition, mechanisation, climate-smart farming and agribusiness opportunities.
"Agriculture today is no longer subsistence farming. It is a business with immense potential for wealth creation and employment," Kasura stated in his written speech that was read by Aacha.
Kasura pledged on behalf of the government to continue supporting agricultural training institutions and strengthening extension services, research and innovation to improve productivity and competitiveness in the agricultural sector.
He commended the management and staff of Bukalasa Agricultural College for their dedication to producing skilled manpower for the agricultural sector.
"Your efforts continue to contribute greatly towards National development, " Kasura stated.
Government support pledged
Addressing the financial and administrative challenges facing the college, particularly the lack of transport, Kasura said the ministry would provide the institution with a double-cabin pickup truck.
He also promised subvention grants to support the college's operational costs.
Earlier, Kisolo had highlighted several challenges affecting the institution, including an ageing college bus, inadequate staffing levels and the absence of a perimeter wall.
Training for a modern agricultural sector
The graduation ceremony saw the 1,195 graduands awarded diplomas and certificates in crop production, horticulture and agribusiness management.
Others graduated in agricultural mechanisation, home economics and community nutrition, agriculture, animal husbandry, animal production and crop production.
The graduation theme was: "The role of Agricultural education in facilitating youth transition from school to employment", which aligns with MAAIF's mission of commercialising agriculture.
Bukalasa Agricultural College, Uganda's only public agricultural training institution that awards diplomas, began as a cotton breeding centre in 1920 before evolving into an agricultural training institution in the 1950s.
In 2019, Bukalasa was elevated to a centre of excellence for agricultural training under the World Bank-funded Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP).
The upgrading project, implemented by the Ministry of Education with guidance from Dalhousie University of Canada, included the development of a new competence-based curriculum designed to be more practical and responsive to labour market needs.
Bukalasa has also signed a formal agreement with Dalhousie University under which graduates wishing to pursue further studies can gain direct admission without undergoing interviews.
Funding for the college's upgrading was provided through a World Bank loan administered by the Ministry of Education under the USDP.
Under the programme, Bukalasa is networking with three sister institutions: Rwentanga Farm Institute, Sesse Farm Institute and Kaberamaido Technical Institute.