Potential of School Gardening as a Laboratory for Developing Life Skills in Agriculture: The case of Universal Primary Education Schools in Kamuli and Soroti Districts, Uganda

School curricula in Africa emphasise competitive academic subjects and prioritize terminal examinations over practical skills. Although it has been argued that schools can serve as platforms for reaching rural communities with farming innovations through pupils, school gardening is often viewed as a labor-based activity that offers pupils few learning opportunities. Majority of these leave school without employability skills. This study was conducted in two primary (elementary) schools under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in Uganda to determine the potential of school gardening in providing life skills in agriculture but also to mitigate short-term hunger in UPE schools. Data were collected for two cropping seasons (4 school terms) using qualitative methods of focus group discussions (FGDs), interviews, and observation. Findings showed that there was strong interest by pupils to participate in school gardening activities and enhanced learning transfer of skills from the school garden to home gardens. The agricultural clubs offered the social energy that formed the foundation for learning technical aspects of agriculture in a more supportive environment of work and fun. Benefits of participating in school gardening included acquisition of knowledge and practical skills on crop production skills by pupils, food eaten by pupils and teachers acquisition of people oriented skills such as leadership, teamwork among others. It is recommended that school gardening activities be extended to the various education stakeholders and the communitiesFurthermore, the primary school agriculture curriculum in Uganda necessitates review to include the practical component.