The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) is one of the ten Colleges of Makerere University as provided for in the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions Management of Constituent Colleges of Makerere University (Statute 2012).
The College was formed in 2011 as a merger of four units namely the Faculty of Agriculture, The Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, The Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) and the Department of Geography.
The Vision of CAES is “To be leading Institution of Academic Excellence and Innovations in Africa”.
CAES subscribes to the five core values of Makerere University including Allegiance to the Institution, Integrity, Customer Responsiveness, Professionalism and Openness to Diversity.
The College is headed by the Principal as the Chief Administrative, academic and financial officer of the College. The Principal is supported by the Deputy Principal and evolved structures of the centre including a College Registrar, College Human Resource Officer, College Communications Officer, Procurement Officer, College Bursar (Term Leader), College Librarian and a Systems Administrator.
The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is one of the most diverse Colleges of Makerere University in terms of disciplines and programme offering. It is comprised of 3 Schools namely; The School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS), The School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences (FEGS) and The School of Food Technology Nutrition and Bio-Engineering (FTNB). Each School is headed by a Dean. The College has 8 Departments responsible for specialized disciplines within the College (See CAES at a Glance). Each Department is headed by a Departmental Chair. The College is supported by 410 staff of which 202 are Faculty with 24 Professors and 30 Associate Professors. The rest are at the rank of Lecturer or Assistant Lecturer. Currently the College runs 16 full accredited undergraduate programs, 18 graduate programs and 5 Diploma programs. The student population is 2,758 undergraduates and 164 graduate students of which about 40 percent are female for both categories. Graduate programs of the College are internationally recognized currently attracting graduate students from 16 countries.
The College has ample resources for teaching, research and outreach that include 900m2 of teaching space, 6 specialized libraries/book banks, 19 research laboratories (recently refurbished with government support), six computer rooms and one Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Computer Laboratory.
The Academic research and outreach activities of the College are also supported by three off Campus research institutions and 09 specialized centres of excellence in agricultural education, waste management, mountain resources, climate change, food technology, biodiversity, crop improvement, policy and soybean improvement and development.
Key research areas of the College are equally diverse transcending the entire agriculture/food value chain. Research areas of Current engagement include Climate change and water resources, agricultural value chains, crop improvement, post-harvest management, nutrition, evaluation research, forestry and biodiversity, sustainable production, waste management, equipment design, risks and hazards to mention but a few. The College’s average annual research publication is 100 peer reviewed articles in high impact journals.
The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental sciences hosts three Journal Outlets including the African Crop Science Journal, The Makerere University Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Eastern Africa Journal of Rural Development.
CAES also actively and regularly interfaces with policy makers, farmers and other stakeholders through regular seminars, public lectures and international conferences including the biennial NARO-MAK Scientific Conference and the recent one being the 1st Great Lakes and Catchment Management Conference (1st GLACAM).
The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences prides itself in having some of the highest achievers in the University. In 2018 Prof. Archileo Kaaya won the African Union (AU) award as an agent of change for aflatoxin control. The same year Prof. Noble Banadda won the PIUS XI Gold medal 2018 for Scientific research whereas Prof. Phinehas Tukamuhabwa won the Uganda Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium (UBBC) award for his ground breeding work on Soybean improvement. CAES students also have been no exception, CAES presented the best performing science student at the 68th graduation in January 2018. A CAES PhD student won the best student abstract award at the World Aquaculture Society in the USA whereas a 4th year BSc. Agriculture student won a French campus France day.
The College has consistently graduated the highest number of PhDs (18 in 2018 and 10 in 2019) and a reasonable number of Masters and Bachelors degrees.
Staff of the College have also generated novel innovations to support the process of agricultural development and transformation in Uganda. These include the development of a Solar Irrigation Pump, a New Soybean variety MakSoy 6N), a Pig Semen Laboratory and many others.
The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has a very strong international foot print. On average, the College attracts 10 new research grants per year and maintains over 40 Memorandum of Understand (MoUs) with various domestic and international partners that include public and private entities, the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) led by the National Agricultural Research Organization and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. These partnerships have been an invaluable source of research funding and research innovation.
Finally, the Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recognizes her role as a key player in contributing to Uganda’s Vision 2040 of “A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years” as articulated in the second National Development Plan (NDPII) 2015/16 – 2019/20.
The NDP II (2015) identifies three growth opportunities, one of which is Agriculture and CAES is in a strategic position to contribute to the growth of the Agricultural Sector through Human Capital development, research and innovation. Hence the College continues to re-invent itself and realign its programs and activities to be an active player in Uganda’s comprehensive system of skills development for increased employment, enhanced productivity and growth.