By Herbert Musoke and Joshua Kato
It was a good turnout at the Harvest Money vegetable growing masterclass that had farmers flocking in from all corners of the country to AVAIL Fruit of Faith Farm, Magere in Wakiso district.
Farmers came from as far as Kasese, Masindi, Jinja, Masaka, Kampala and Wakiso districts.
Over 200 farmers attended the training, that focused on vegetable growing as one of the enterprises that ensures food-nutritional security and a source of regular income as they mature within weeks.
At the training that took place on September 30, the main message was; vegetables are medicine, grow them, eat them and earn from them.
The masterclass was organised by Vision Group in partnership with the Best Farmers sponsors; the Netherlands Embassy in Uganda, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Nutrition BV.
The venue was the cool, green Avail Fruits of Faith Farm owned by 2019 Best Farmer Joseph Male.
The training tackled pertinent issues in the production value chain of vegetable growing from variety and seed selection, soil preparation, best agronomic practices, post-harvest management to marketing, and other general tips on farming.
The trainers included Gillian Atukunda and Ian Tabula for nursery bed management.
Steven Mulindwa and Derrick Kisa trained farmers on crop water requirements and different irrigation systems.
Male trained the controlled environment (greenhouse farming) and Mike Ssegawa on tomato growing.
Tips on vegetable farming
“Many people have gone into farming and failed because of not having cash flow for the farm they have started since you need money for the day-to-day running of the farm as you wait for the main crops to mature,” Male advised.
He encouraged parents to train their children in farming because, with the changing trends, it is likely to become the only enterprise that can pay well, which will call for the young people to venture into it and if they don’t know or have interest, they will miss out.
Male challenged the participants to increase their consumption of vegetables.
Studies have ranked Uganda as the second in vegetable production in Africa after Nigeria, yet consumption is so low that it affects the market.
“Many Ugandans only resort to eating vegetables when advised by medical professionals due to health challenges or during tough economic times,” he says.
To those who want to venture into farming on a commercial scale, he advised them to have a business model that encompasses short-term, middle term and long-term crops.
In addition, the principles that govern a business should be the same ones applied on the farm. In this case, farming is no longer a hobby, but a viable commercial enterprise.
“Here, the short term should be crops that take one to six months to mature, like vegetables, especially the leafy ones, such as lettuce that take about a month to mature. The middle term will be those that take six months to one-and-a-half years to mature, which will be fruits, like pawpaws and then the long-term to be where you plant the farm to be,” he says.
Farmers were cautioned not to seek markets as individuals as many have been cheated or failed to penetrate, according to Julius Kakeeto, the director of Gieve Ltd, a company that connects farmers to the market.
He explained that farmers from other countries, such as Kenya are flooding Ugandan markets with their produce, like tomatoes because they bulk and deliver as a group.
What others say
Linda Mwebesa, Kasangati
We have some crops at home with my husband, but we are doing it on a low scale. We would like to have something that can supplement our incomes, but also something we can use to teach our children the basics of farming as a business.
Harriet Nakyeyune, Magere
We have always been coming here for training. There is a lot to learn. Every time I come, I pick something new. Today, I have learnt a lot about greenhouse farming because it helps one to have more income from a small space as crops yield more and the harvesting time is longer.
Lydia Katusabe, Magere
I wanted to start growing vegetables at home, but I didn’t know what to do. However, the training has given me the knowledge. I now know how to get quality seed, manage it in the nursery bed, care for the crops in the garden and how get the market.
Hope Twinomujuni
My main topic was greenhouse farming and I am grateful that I have been taken through almost everything I wanted to know about greenhouse farming and management. I am now left with completing a few things so I can start my farm.
Stella Nakaweesi, Tusitukire, Wamu Farmers Group, Bwaise
I have learnt a lot about vegetable farming and I am going to share this with other group members who did not come. We want to make vegetable growing our business as a group.
Rebecca Ssenkubuge Azza, Garuga-Entebbe
The training has been resourceful to me as I have learnt about crop protection in the gardens, especially the preventive measures, which start with quality seed selection, timely planting and best agronomic practices, like proper draining and proper provision of water, among others.
Richard Kamanyire, Kinyara, Masindi
For over 15 years, I have been growing sugarcane that takes over 18 months to mature and I needed a crop that can give me regular income to cater for my family. I learnt that vegetables can give this as some mature in 30 days. The training has been resourceful in establishing my vegetable garden
