PLEDGE

Proliferation of Local Expertise in Development of Green Growth Economy

A four year Erasmus+ Strand 3 Capacity Building in Higher Education project, coordinated by Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) with a twelve member consortium, transforming higher education to build Uganda's green growth economy.

70%

of Uganda's population employed in agriculture

24%

contribution of agriculture to national GDP

consortium partners, four international and eight local

13 yrs

horizon of the Back to Farmer program PLEDGE is built on

The Challenge

Uganda's agricultural sector remains dominated by smallholder farmers facing low productivity, limited value addition, weak extension services, and heavy dependence on rain fed farming. Higher education has stayed largely theoretical, leaving graduates underprepared for the practical demands of industry, while priority value chains face growing climate pressures.

Practical training discussion at PLEDGE launch

The Transformation

PLEDGE is moving higher education toward Competence Based Education and Training (CBET), pairing academic learning with placements, internships, and practical study on real farms and in real industry. Professors and researchers step back into a supporting role, working alongside farmers rather than only in front of a lecture hall.

The Back to Farmer approach

PLEDGE is built on Back to Farmer (B2F), a long term research and development approach in which academia returns to the farmer and to industry to consult, learn, and act on what is actually working in the field. Rather than treating farmers as recipients of knowledge, B2F places their indigenous knowledge and practical needs at the center of research and innovation, with professors and researchers serving the sector rather than standing apart from it.

Because changing agriculture at this scale cannot happen in one or two years, B2F is planned as a thirteen year program, and PLEDGE forms part of its first structural phase.

Inception, 0.5 yrs

Phase 1: basic structure, 4 yrs

Phase 2: specialization, 4 yrs

Phase 3: scale up, 4 yrs

Closure, 0.5 yrs

Three National Excellence Training Centres

Built around Uganda's priority green growth value chains, equipping professionals to build sustainable, competitive sectors.

Coffee

Horticulture, avocado

Tourism

Project pillars and deliverables

Skills

Integrating green competencies, innovation, and entrepreneurship into higher education structures.

Competence

Developing teacher capacity in Competence Based Education and Training (CBET) and practical, farm based training.

Opportunity

Establishing university industry councils that bridge academia and the agri food market.

Impact

Aligning with National Vision 2040 and NDP IV to build a knowledge driven, resilient green economy.

Working alongside AgriCBE

PLEDGE coordinates with AgriCBE, a sister Erasmus+ Strand 3 project led by Gulu University that strengthens competence based agricultural curricula across Uganda and Kenya. A joint quality assurance body bringing in AgriCBE's institutional coordinators helps both projects share lessons and extend impact across more of Uganda's higher education institutions.