Dr. James Ssebuliba - Head

Training at the Department
The Department of Crop Science offers common courses to all undergraduate students in the Faculty of Agriculture, and an opportunity in the 4th year of B.Sc. course for interested students to specialise in the popular crop science option. The Department enjoys a big number of M.Sc. and Doctorate candidates in its vibrant postgraduate training programme. Two regional programmes namely the MSc in Plant Breeding and Seed Systems and the PhD in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology admitted their first batch of students (16 MSc and 22 PhD students) in 2008. The regional programmes are supported by funding from AGRA, SCARDA-ECA and RUFORUM.


Research at the Department
Academic members of staff devote substantial amounts of time in identifying and developing research proposals which address national research priorities for funding.  Research is undertaken in all fields of Crop Science and also forms the backbone of graduate training in the department.

Research Projects Undertaken
A number of staff members are leading research and training projects in the various discipline of crop science. The major projects include:

1. Unlocking the potential of maize and sorghum as new food, feed and industrial raw materials. Funded by Millennium Science Initiative (MSI) Programme of UNCST. Led by Dr. P. Okori.
2. Enhancing banana production through application of biotechnology: Scaling up the production of disease free tissue cultured banana plantlets in Uganda. Funded by MSI Programme of UNCST. Led by Dr. S. B. Mukasa
3. Targeting gene-based markers associated with drought tolerance mechanisms for cassava breeding. Funded by MSI Programme of UNCST. Led by Prof. D. Osiru
4. Exploring the sorghum-turcicum leaf blight system with further implications on maize breeding. Project involves 1 PhD student. Supported by BIOEARN. Led by Dr. P. Okori.
5. Developing Biotechnologies to Ameliorate Biotic and Abiotic stresses in sorghum. This project involves 4 MSc. Students and 1 PhD students. Supported by BIO-EARN. - Dr. P. Okori
6. Urban/peri-urban crop-waste utilisation for crop/livestock production systems in Lake Victoria Crescent Region. Project involves 7 PhD students. Led by Prof. E. N Sabiiti.
7. Towards sustainable cassava and sweet potato production in eastern Africa. Collaborative project between BIOEARN institutes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Funded by Sida/SAREC (BIOEARN Programme Project 2). PI-Prof S. Kyamanywa; Co-PI Dr. S. B Mukasa.
8. Diversity of Entomopathogenic nematodes and their potential for the control of insect pests in Uganda. Supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York/School of Graduate studies Makerere University. Led by Dr. H. Talwana
9. Seed Health Improvement Programme (SHIP). Funded by the DANIDA, the project run by Makerere University, The Danish Centre for Seed Health, NARO and the National Seed Certification Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). Techinical Coordinator Dr G. Tusiime; Administrative coordinator Prof S. Kyamanywa.
10. Soybean breeding and seed systems. Funded by AGRA. Led by Dr. P. Tukamuhabwa.
11. How resistant plant varieties avoid suppression of RNA silencing by viruses as exemplified by sweetpotato: contributing to food security through improved virus control. A collaborative project between the Natural Resources Institute - University of Greenwich, the International Potato Center (Peru), Central Sciences Laboratory (UK), Cambridge University and Makerere University Faculty of Agriculture. Funded by DFID/BBSCR. Co-PI, Dr S. B Mukasa.

Partnerships and Networking
The Department maintains strong linkages with other Universities/Institutes including, Ohio State University, Virginia Tech in USA, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Nairobi University, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), University of Capetown, Institute of Agriculture and Fisheries Research (IULVO) Belgium, University of Wiscousin, SIDA, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, IOWA State University, University of Kwazulu Natal.

The Department has established collaborative linkages with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences on research and PhD sandwich programme on Urban crop Waste Utilisation

The Department has also established a formal linkage with Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence in Canada to assist the faculty establish a similar centre at MUARIK. The University has already allocated a building to convert it in a research lab.

Human Resource
The Department has an academic staff of 18 members covering the disciplines of Crop and Plant physiology, Agronomy, Agricultural botany, Ecology, Entomology, Plant pathology, Weed science, Horticulture, Plant breeding, Genetics, Biotechnology, and Biometrics. The members of the academic staff are assisted by eight technicians and two secretaries.

Contact:

Head
Department of Crop Science
Makerere University
P.O. Box 7062
Kampala
Phone: 256 414 542277
Fax: 256 414 531641
Email: crop@agric.mak.ac.ug

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