A delegation from China Agricultural University, together with leaders from the Busoga Consortium, has toured Buteme Light Primary School to assess the progress of the school garden programme under the Village Agriculture Model initiative.
The delegation was led by Associate Professor Li Li and PhD candidate Yanchen Qi from China Agricultural University, alongside Busoga Consortium Director General Dr Mula Anthony and District Chairperson Sarah Sambya.
The team is currently visiting beneficiaries of the Village Agriculture Model benchmarking programme and selected model villages to evaluate progress, share knowledge, and strengthen community-based agricultural transformation efforts.
At Buteme Light Primary School, the delegation was received by Headteacher Makubo Stephen, teachers, and farmers from the surrounding community.
The visit focused on the school’s demonstration garden, which is being used to equip learners with practical farming skills while also supporting household food production and livelihoods.
Speaking during the visit, Dr Mula Anthony said the initiative seeks to turn schools into centres of agricultural learning capable of influencing entire communities.
“This visit aims to strengthen agricultural knowledge sharing and promote practical farming skills among learners,” he said. “Through the Village Agriculture Model, we want to ensure that schools become centres of learning that directly impact household livelihoods.”
Associate Professor Li Li emphasized the importance of integrating agriculture into school programmes, saying practical learning can help build long-term food security from the grassroots.
“School gardens are not just for learning. They are practical tools for community transformation. What students learn here, they take home to their families,” Prof Li said.
Headteacher Makubo Stephen noted that the school garden project has significantly changed learners’ attitudes toward agriculture.
“Our learners are now more interested in agriculture. They participate in planting, weeding, and harvesting. The knowledge they get here is also helping their parents at home,” he explained.
District Chairperson Sarah Sambya commended the partnership between the Busoga Consortium and China Agricultural University, describing it as a timely intervention aligned with the district’s efforts to use agriculture as a tool for fighting poverty and improving household incomes.
“We believe the Village Agriculture Model is the way to go. If every school and household practices modern farming, we shall transform our communities,” Sambya said.
The ongoing tour of model villages forms part of the Busoga Consortium’s broader strategy to scale up agricultural best practices across the region following benchmarking training programmes for farmers, local leaders, and community groups.
Leaders involved in the initiative say the long-term goal is to create self-sustaining farming communities where schools, households, and local institutions work together to improve food production, nutrition, and economic resilience.
