By Herbert Musoke
During the Harvest Money Etop Master class recently, farmers were tipped on how to earn from vegetables, including sukuma wiki, cabbage, onions and eggplant, both in the open field and through urban farming.
The training was at Bego Farm in Okidoi village, Ocokican sub-county, Soroti district.
William Muhindo, who trained farmers on this topic, advised those looking to venture into farming as a business to develop a business model for their farms that includes short-term, medium-term and long-term crops.
He emphasised the importance of treating farming as a serious business rather than a casual endeavour.
“Short-term crops take between one month to six months to mature, such as vegetables — especially leafy vegetables like lettuce, which take about a month to mature. Medium-term crops take between six months and a year-and-a-half to mature, such as fruits like pawpaw. Long-term crops are those you plant for the future,” he explained.
For urban farming, participants learned about various garden setups that can be established in backyards, allowing for sufficient vegetables for home consumption as well as for sale.
These include kitchen gardens, food towers, box gardens and raised gardens.
The training also provided farmers with beekeeping tips, encouraging them to have beehives on their farms. This generates income through honey sales and boosts crop production plus productivity, thereby increasing the farm’s profitability.
