Communication is key to helping support smallholder farmers in Uganda, says current Masters student Vincent

Vincent is studying for an MSc in Communication for Development at the University of Reading, and it’s great to hear how much his course has benefited him and his ability to be a communicator of sustainable farming in his home country of Uganda.

Vincent says: “Term time has been very helpful to me in the line of communication and agriculture. Firstly, I have learnt how to come up with a communication strategy to reach out to the targeted audience. This will be very necessary as I look forward to passing agricultural information to smallholder farmers because for long, they have not been benefiting from extension services as a result of poor extension strategy coupled with few workers alongside the vulnerability of projects to elite capture.

“Secondly, I have also gained new knowledge and tools on how to empower the community. In the participatory module, I have realized that for the local people to be empowered, they should be incorporated in all the stages of coming up with the project so that their indigenous knowledge, ideas, suggestions and interest are recognized which leads to the sustainability of such innovation.

“Thirdly, in agricultural-related modules, I have gained various relevant farming skills such as precision agriculture, no-till farming to mention a few which if introduced to Uganda will be cost-effective for our poor small-scale farmers to manage thus boosting crop production.”