Nurturing Agri-Entrepreneurial skills through students’ attachments to agribusiness firms in northern Uganda: A case of the MSc. Agri-Enterprises Development Program of Gulu University

Community attachment by agriculture students at Gulu University is carried out at both MSc. and undergraduate level. MSc. level students participate in the last two months of their second year of study. Student engagement with the community is not only a learning process but also helps develop students entrepreneurial skills. This synopsis is based on an end of attachment reports by seven students. Data provided in the reports were analysed and frequencies and percentages generated. The major problems facing the firms where students were attached included: inadequate market information access (85.7%), poor records management (42.9%) and unresponsive and unfriendly credit facilities (42.9%). Majority of the students were engaged in training activities and these were mostly in business planning, record keeping, and village savings and loan associations. Students recommended that students be supervised more, and that the attachment period be increased. Other recommendations were to get the students involved in contract farming, utilization of the farmer call centre at the university and strengthening record keeping. The importance of the attachment program cannot be over emphasized for both the students and the communities to which they are attached.