Makerere University appoints first female principal for College of agricultural and environmental sciences

MAKERERE | AGRICULTURE COLLEGE | PROF GORETTIE

KAMPALA - “When you educate a woman, you educate a nation,” so goes a common saying. 

As far as food security is concerned, women play a big role as producers in Uganda’s agriculture subsistence sector. 

Professor Gorettie Nabanoga has stepped on pedestal to nurture young professionals and researchers that will deliver Uganda to the promised land. (Courtesy Photos)

At the same time, Uganda is seeking to commercialize the agriculture sector and also ensure that nobody is left behind, which is part of the sustainable development agenda. 

At Makerere University’s College of Agriculture and Environment Sciences, Professor Gorettie Nabanoga has stepped on pedestal to nurture young professionals and researchers that will deliver Uganda to the promised land. 

Nabanoga (L) said that Government funding is not enough yet the priorities of the partners (donor agencies) may not be consistent with national priorities. 

Nabanoga has taken over as the new principal at Makerere University’s College of Agriculture and Environment sciences. 

In an interview with New Vision, Nabanoga who has been nurtured at Makerere for decades, getting to the helm of the College of Agriculture and environmental sciences is a big milestone. 

She is the first woman to be appointed as the Principal of the College but she also brings a lot of value to the college as a gender specialist. 

“The potential in Agriculture and food security is enormous, once we have resources we can prioritize research and innovation. All this require heavy investment. This will also require a policy shift.” 

She added, “Most people think we are academic and not entrepreneurial. We have innovations that we can commercialise, we have prototypes”. 

Nabanoga said that Government funding is not enough yet the priorities of the partners (donor agencies) may not be consistent with national priorities. 

“I am not going to beg for funding,” she told New Vision, adding that she was going to engage with private sector and the public to access additional funding and impact society differently. 

As a woman, Nabanoga says she has the patience and also pays attention to detail and believes that this will be key in pushing Makerere University’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences to its destiny. 

Nabanoga holds a PhD-Social Sciences; with research in Gender and Natural Resources Management, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands; a Master of Science in Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway; a Bachelor of Science in Forestry, Department of Forestry, Makerere University, Uganda and she completed her ordinary and advance levels of education from Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga, Uganda. Prof. Nabanoga completed her four-year Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry. 

She has grown through the academic ranks from Teaching Assistant to currently Associate Professor. 

She was the first female Dean of Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University for three years and the first female Deputy Principal, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University for eight years and now the first female Principal, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University.