10 Mar 2014

Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA) is making strides in transforming to become a fully-fledged university.

Speaking at a media briefing in Gaborone on Friday March 7, BCA acting principal, Dr Mataba Tapela said the transformation budget cost P160 million, with government at 70 per cent which is valued at P100 million while BCA fends for the 30 per cent.

Dr Tapela said BCA is able to meet the 30 per cent through student fees, and revenue raised from their Sebele farm produce. He added that if need be, they would move to commercialisation and partnering with the private sectors to raise more revenue.

Meanwhile, Dr Tapela said the anticipated ‘University of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ would offer a diversity of programmes. Dr Tapela noted that BCA had been pointed towards agriculture production while neglecting the value addition aspect of the agricultural produce as well as natural resources component.

He said the university would also expand to have five faculties with three or four units in each department. Some of the new faculties, he added would be non-sciences such as the rural development, education and applied arts.

The change, he said would widen employment opportunities for graduates as well to mould graduates who can be self-employed or venture into agro business, as well as policy makers.

Further, he indicated that the move to university would focus on community development which would promote both urban and rural agriculture compared to the current scenario of rural agriculture only.

He also noted that the major thing in the transformation was the draft bill to be passed in parliament by July and major changes in the job structures to the level of vice chancellor.

The college would also foresee recruitment of staff members. However, Dr Tapela did not want to reveal whether the staff restructuring changes would lead to retrenchment of the current BCA staff. “I am not sure which positions would be affected but some positions are going to be split,” he said. Ends