The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), on Wednesday, 9th April, hosted a delegation of over 30 military officers from Burundi’s Senior Command and Staff College Kinanira on a study tour in a bid to foster collaboration and strengthen internationalisation.
The study tour that involved visits to the Fisheries unit at Bugonga, MAAIF headquarters, and NADDEC, among other units, is part of their academic curriculum aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and promoting sustainable peace and security.
Speaking at the Ministry’s headquarters in Entebbe, Steven Tibijuka, the Commissioner for Crop Protection at MAAIF, who represented the Permanent Secretary, briefed the delegation about the agricultural mission, objectives and what has been done in the implementation as well as how the country has progressed in agriculture.
“Agriculture being multi-stakeholder, UPDF as a force has made tandems contribution towards food production and feed security. So we have elaborated on our collaboration and how the force has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture for example how the force participated in the control of locusts, we have explained how we relate when we have floating islands and the collaboration in production including how a barracks like Kabamba with a production of over 3,000 acres of maize among others,” he said.
In addition, Tibijuka emphasized how trade can be smoothly between Uganda and East African Community member countries, including how resources that are within the region, like Lake Victoria, can be effectively shared without depression, among other issues.
The visiting delegation was led by Col. Jonas Sabushimike, also the Chief Instructor at Burundi’s Senior Command and Staff College, who said that Uganda was chosen for its strong commitment to regional cooperation and its exemplary socio-economic transformation, praising Uganda’s leadership in security and integration efforts.
On behalf of the students, Maj. Lillian Otongo expressed appreciation for the visit to MAAIF, saying, “Without doubt, the presentation on enhancing regional cooperation for development, and sustainable peace and security has enhanced our understanding of the overview of agriculture in Uganda, MAAIF mandate, structure and challenges, the supportive role of the army in agricultural development among others which have brought us significant lessons important to our curriculum and general knowledge of the subject.”
Apart from MAAIF, the delegation has visited the Ministry of Defence and National Enterprise cooperation, and they are yet to visit more ministries before they go back to Kinanira on Friday.
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