A farm and community attachment report carried out at Jabba engineering limited, Jabba soil laboratories.

Abstract

This report contains and describes the activities implemented, skills and qualifications gained, challenges faced during the industrial training, conclusion and recommendations derived from the challenges faced at Jabba Engineering Limited. The objective of this farm and community practice was to make students apply the knowledge got from the classroom into real practical field work, gained the skills and knowledge from the fields to build self confidence in the students. During community practice was attached Jabba soil laboratory Mbale branch after orientation afterward I was first introduced to the different departments and district official for familiarization and later I implemented the activities such as; soil sampling, nutrient testing, test result reading, analysis and interpretation, crop matching and giving recommendations. These activities made me to gained various skills like quartering to obtain a composite sample, good communication skills and confidence in training farmers on both soil and crop management during practice period, I also faced some challenges like; difficulties in farmers mobilization, high expectations from farmers, limited transport means for field work and poor time management by the farmers to the training venue, In conclusion all the activities were conducted and farm and community attachment was carried out successfully. I gained a lot from the period of attachment since my field supervisors gave me an elaborate practical skills and knowledge in line with my career and relating with people in the field. Observations made while conducting community and farm outreach are Farmer/Beneficiaries High Expectations where driven more to monetary expectations, Ignorance some beneficiaries were did not consent to sampling and profiling their gardens for fear that their land would be stolen, this was witnessed in West Budama, Tororo district while some farmers attempted to do the sampling themselves but did not know the correct procedures and techniques, dos and don'ts involved while conducting Soil sampling thus would pick samples from one part of the garden and consider that a soil sample. However, for some of the challenges sited above, I recommend that the Company conducts more educational trainings to create awareness about the goals and legitimacy of the company so that farmers' fear of land theft is addressed. More awareness about the importance of conducting an accurate soil sample, testing a soil before making any amendments or recommendations is necessary so that farmers do not waste finances, make wrong judgements about the nutrient status of their soils and avoid fertilizer misuse.