Vice-Chancellors and other representatives from three Kenyan Universities, :  namely, Moi University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology and Egerton University, who were on a working visit to the University for Development studies, were given a taste of the UDS flavour, when they went on a tour of the various campuses of the University.

The tour formed part of activities lined-up for the three-day visit of the Kenyan delegation to UDS, during which visit an agreement of corporation was produced to serve as a tool that would keep the universities together as they collaborate in different areas to promote educational development.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UDS who doubles as the Director of WACWISA lead the team on the tour. He first took them through the Central Administration building of the University after which the visitors were taken to the multi-purpose auditorium of the Tamale campus. The visitors were then taken around the campus to see the buildings that house the Directorates of Sports, Health Services and Community Relations and Outreach Programmes (DCROP). The visitors were taken to the staff bungalows and the homes of some of the Principal Officers.

Other facilities shown to the visitors include the Tamale Campus Football field. They were also taken to the School of Allied Health Sciences (SAHS), the School of Nursing and Midwifery, the School of Public Health, and the Tamale Campus Library, which also houses the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

They were also taken round some of the student’ accommodation facilities, including the Sagnarigu Hall, the Ghana Universities Staff Superannuation Scheme (GUSSS) hostel, the Credit Union house as well as the International Conference Centre, and the National investment bank which are adjacent the Campus Mall.

The team then embarked on a 17-kilometer journey from Tamale to the Nyankpala Campus of UDS. At Nyankpala, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UDS, Prof Felix K. Abagale, led the team to pay a courtesy call on the Principal of the Campus.

The Principal, Prof. George Nyarko, welcomed them and said he was excited to receive them in his office and reiterated that Ghana and Kenya have had a wonderful history of collaborations since the days of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, and Uhuru Kenyatta, former President of Kenya.
 
Prof Nyarko said he had visited Kenya on two previous occasions and that he had observed that both the country and its people were very hospitable. He added that there is the need for a regional collaboration especially, in the field of food security, nutrition and food sustainability, which he believed are the very important aspects that should be given priority attention.

Prof. Nyarko, intimated that in contemporary times, many farmers tend to place more emphasis on farm size, than paying attention to the nutritional value of food produced. This, he said must take center stage if we want to live healthy lives in Africa.

The team at the Solar Powered Irrigation field at Nyanpkala campus

The Vice-Chancellor of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Professor Stephen G. Agong, thanked the Principal of Nyankpala campus for the warm reception and on behalf of the other two Vice-Chancellors from Kenya. Prof. Stephen, informed the Principal about the expertise and specialties of the three universities and extended a hand of welcome for collaborations through which sustainability of food production could be achieved in Africa.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UDS, Prof. F.K Abagale, took the team around the campus through, the Ladies’ Hostels to the staff bungalows, the Spanish Laboratory, the Main Library and to the Meat Unit of the University, where a research fellow and supervisor at the unit, Mr. Alexander Abu, took the team through the meat processing and other procedures at the Unit. He said the Unit trains students on meat production and also conducts research into both plants and animal produce.

Some of the meat produced at the unit and packaged in different forms were shown to the visitors. The meat Unit is currently conducting research into the nutritional value of Bambara beans. The visitors were excited about the innovations they had observed at the Meat Unit. They expressed the desire to replicate same at their various Universities.

From the Meat Unit, the visitors were taken to the temporary offices housing WACWISA where they were first ushered into a laboratory which contained a Gas Chromatography (GC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS) instrument.

The Dean of Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Professor Samuel Jerry Cobbina who was part of the UDS team and who is also an expert in handling such machines said the integrated device of GC and MS, is a precise analytical instrument for detecting what (qualitative) and how many (quantitative) compounds are. He added that the Gas Chromatography separates the vaporized samples into the chromatographic column, and the separated compounds enter the Mass Spectrometry for detection. He said the machine, is used for research purposes at the Centre.

A group picture of the team at the solar plant of Nyankpala campus

The new WACWISA office complex was the next port of call for the visitors. The three-storey building will house the Director and other staff of the directorate as well as lecture halls, scientific laboratories, conference centres and a library.

The Green People’s, Energy Project, was the last place the visitors toured. This is Solar Powered Irrigation System - is a joint project between UDS and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to reduce the cost involved with the use of fuel and electricity in irrigation projects. The team was taken through how the solar project works and the possibilities of replicating same in their country. There were some Rosselle (Bira), Okro and other vegetables at the irrigation field for participants to see.

Also on the tour were Dr. Bernard N. Baatuuwie, Vice Dean of Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment FNRE, Dr. Sylvester Ayambila, the Research Coordinator of WACWISA, Dr. Joseph Korese Kudadam, Head of Department, Agricultural Mechanization and Irrigation Technology, Mr. Benard Alando, the Assistant Registrar at WACWISA and staff of the University Relations office.

The Vice-Chancellors of the various universities from Kenya expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to see and witness the things UDS is doing as they bid goodbye to the Nyankpala campus.

Story by:
Isaac E. Dramani (University Relations)