Department of Crop Science and Horticulture(DCSH) is proud to be part of this race towards agriculture sector improvements.
Graduate Training for Skills Development, Sustainable Employment and Jobs Creation in the Agricultural Sector in Tanzania is a program implemented by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) funded by the Skills Development Fund. The program is monitored by the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA). This program endeavors to provide solutions to tackle youth unemployment in the country. The program is envisioned to enhance both youth employability and entrepreneurial skills. It aims at boosting the capacity of graduates to have the required practical skills so as to create new sustainable employment opportunities for themselves and other young men and women.
Group photo of trainers and some of the participants of horticultural plant propagation training.
A short course on Horticultural Plant Propagation was conducted from 16 – 20th /09/2019 at SUA Horticulture Farm, Morogoro. Sixty (60) participants attended the course among which 15 were females. This training involved a few hours of propagation principles and then trainees were engaged in hands-on practical training on the production of healthy vegetable seedlings and fruit crops nursery establishment and management. The trainees covered extensively vegetable variety selection and the use of seedling trays in raising vegetable seedlings. They also practiced fruit crop nursery establishment and propagation techniques including grafting and budding.
Participants work in groups to practice media preparation and filling trays before sowing.
Some sweet peppers seedlings sown by participants during the training.
Hands-on practical in fruits seedlings grafting.
Upon opening the training the Head of the DCSH, Dr. Abdul B. Kudra, welcomed participants to SUA and expressed appreciation of their readiness to attend the training. He stressed on the major objective of the training and reminded participants to be active and ask questions to experts as much as they could. He further explained the importance of the horticulture sector in the national economy as a rapidly growing sector. He pointed out that quality horticulture produce can conquer both internal and external markets and therefore reminded participants to think in a broad perspective about horticulture production. Trainers in this program were Dr. Hosea Mtui. Dr. Elias Mgembe and Mr. Godwin Rwezaula.
At the end of the course, participants were awarded certificates to appreciate their efforts in career building and learning processes. Participants, on their side, noted that this kind of training is important especially for fresh graduates and they requested similar trainings on crop protection and post-harvest handling.Dr. Newton Kilasi, on behalf of the Head of the Department, gave closing remarks by appreciating everyone who made the training possible and wished participants all the best in their daily activities especially horticulture crop production.Dr.Kilasi concluded with an open invitation to the participants to visit SUA anytime in case they faced some technical problems.
“The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well; and doing well whatever you do…” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
