Faculty of Agriculture and Environment

The Faculty of Agriculture and Environment was established in 2005 as a key player in training of agricultural and environmental professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate levels with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes for sustainable social transformation. At its inception, the faculty had only the Bachelor of Agriculture Programme, and a total of 51 pioneer students enrolled in 2005. Over the years, the faculty has grown, and now has Five Bachelors’, Seven Masters’ and One PhD programmes and an enrolment of about 700 students from more than eight African countries. There are 43 full-time academic staff and 15 administrative and support staff. The faculty also supports the training of BSc in Agriculture at Hoima Campus, and in future, it plans to offer similar support to Gulu University Constituent Collage, Moroto. Faculty Vision To be a centre of excellence and inspiration for work, training research and outreach in all aspects of agricultural and environmental sciences. Faculty Mission To produce practical graduates as well as other players in the field of agriculture and environment; generate knowledge and technologies for socio-economic transformation of…

The Faculty of Agriculture and Environment was established in 2005 as a key player in training of agricultural and environmental professionals at undergraduate and postgraduate levels with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes for sustainable social transformation. At its inception, the faculty had only the Bachelor of Agriculture Programme, and a total of 51 pioneer students enrolled in 2005. Over the years, the faculty has grown, and now has Five Bachelors’, Seven Masters’ and One PhD programmes and an enrolment of about 700 students from more than eight African countries. There are 43 full-time academic staff and 15 administrative and support staff. The faculty also supports the training of BSc in Agriculture at Hoima Campus, and in future, it plans to offer similar support to Gulu University Constituent Collage, Moroto.

Faculty Vision
To be a centre of excellence and inspiration for work, training research and outreach in all aspects of agricultural and environmental sciences.

Faculty Mission
To produce practical graduates as well as other players in the field of agriculture and environment; generate knowledge and technologies for socio-economic transformation of communities in an ecologically sustainable manner.

The faculty is based on four pillars, namely: (i) social conscience, (ii) environmental commitment, (iii) business mentality and (iv) formation of human values. Programmes in the Faculty are designed to equip graduates with skills for integrated agricultural production with minimum wastage and zero tolerance to environmental pollution. Entrepreneurial, agro-processing and marketing skills are emphasised so as to produce graduates with abilities to create jobs in the agricultural sector.

Training Approach
Our training deploys student-centred methods, leading to graduates who are critical, creative, and innovative with real-world problem-solving abilities. The training approach empowers our graduates to work as part of a team, and with strategic thinking capabilities for sustainable development. Our academic programmes are designed to facilitate application of science and technology to reduce drudgery in the agricultural sector; increase agricultural productivity; reduce post-harvest loses; and to ensure health and safety of agricultural products, while conserving the environment. All the programmes are accredited by the National Council for Higher Educations and periodically reviewed to ensure their relevance to the labour market.

Research
Research at the Faculty is spearheaded by Masters and PhD students under the supervision of experienced Lecturers and Professors. Currently, the faculty has about 200 postgraduate students. Our research programmes are strategically designed to bridge knowledge gaps, and to support improvement in policy and practice in the agricultural sector. Our research has a strong community orientation, and are designed to address contemporary and anticipated community development challenges in the broad discipline of agricultural and environmental sciences.

Community Engagement
The faculty is community-oriented with well-designed programmes to support structured community engagement. The Students Enterprise Scheme (S-E-S), is designed to equip graduates with real-world agribusiness experience, while at the University. Students participate in development of innovative agribusiness models that can be adopted by the community. Further, as a community-oriented faculty, the Students Centred Outreach (SCO) model promotes effective technology and knowledge exchange between the faculty and the communities it serves. Through this model, faculty staff and students work collaboratively to diagnose development challenges facing the agricultural sector and they co-create innovative solutions. To close the skill gap in the agricultural sector, we offer short training courses to the community leading to certification by the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) of the Ministry of Education and Sports.

Infrastructures and Facilities
The faculty is located at Gulu University Main Campus, about four kilometres from Gulu City. It is housed in a spacious building equipped with modern teaching, learning and research facilities. It has well-equipped teaching and research laboratories, pilot processing plants for cassava and fruit processing, engineering workshop, a library and high-speed internet. The faculty has over 200 acres of land in Nwoya District where it is currently establishing a sustainable bioenergy plantation integrated with apiculture. Additional 40 acres of land for agricultural experimentation and training activities is located in Patiko Subcounty, Gulu District. At this site, the faculty is developing a sustainable crop-animal production system, which emphasis on resource recycling to maximise profits while minimising pollution. The faculty is committed to developing these infrastructures to meet the increasing demand for our services.

Partnerships
The faculty enjoys strong partnership which various organisations including the public, private sector, and development partners from all over the world. This partnership has supported the faculty through projects interventions, thus enabling the faculty to effectively deliver its mandates.