The incomes of farmers are not always rosy. This year, the situation was even harder due to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. The weak world economies, the political environment and school fees dilemma that is setting in do not also give farmers so much hope either.
Farming has always been the answer to the financial hardships in Uganda and for that, here are the crops that will give you quick money within 30 and 90 days to help you manage the financial situation ahead. Watermelon could make the difference you seek;
If you are hiring the land, then that is sh200,000-sh250,000 per acre for six months. Ploughing the acre costs sh100,000. An acre takes 3,500 to 4,000 plants and these are generated from at least 600-700grams of seeds.
General maintenance including buying pesticides costs sh1,000,000 to sh2,000,000. Total costs average sh4m. Much of the watermelon varieties mature within 28-30 days from the day of transplant. You need one tin of seeds that cost sh300, 000 that has about 4,000 seeds to plant an acre. From one acre, you can harvest between 8,000 and 40,000 fruits according to the care you give your farm.
Assuming you sell each at sh1, 000 you will earn between sh8m and sh40m. When you are going to grow watermelon, it’s very important to understand the characteristics of the variety you are going to plant among the 60 varieties available on the market as many look alike.
Remember, each variety has its own characteristics from maturity period, resistance to diseases, sweetness, weight where one will only weigh 1kg and another variety will weigh up to 15kg, fruit baring and shelf life, among others.
