As the Harvest Money Expo comes to an end today, visitors streamed into Namboole Stadium’s gates to garner as much knowledge about farming as they can absorb. The three-day event has been sponsored by aBi, Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), Tunga Nutrition, Kingdom of Netherlands, Pepsi, Bella Wine, and Engsol.
In one training workshop about pasture and its value addition chain, Allan Patrick Iga, an expert, opened his session with a question. “Did you know that the grass you used to burn is a cash cow? Even if you don’t own a cow,” said Iga, who owns Fodderman Feeds and Vet Point in Matuga.
He also explained to the audience what pasture really is. “Pasture is any plant grown to feed animals. It is the core of animal rearing. Even maize is pasture,” he said. Iga reiterated that the youth need to adopt pasture production and its subsequent value chain because of the opportunities therein.
“There is an array of business opportunities for the youth. They have the energy to cultivate land and plant seeds for pasture,” he said.
Besides pasture or fodder production, Iga said the youth can also participate in service provision, which includes advisory services, machine operation and hire, fabrication, and repair. Yet another opportunity in the pasture value addition chain, according to Iga, is contract grazing, which he said is good for people with idle land.
Iga advised senior citizens, who have retired and are yet to make a plan for their land, to let cattle keepers graze on the land for a fee. “You can grow pasture on your land and hire it to cattle keepers,” he said. Agro-tourism or study is another opportunity pasture growers can engage in. Iga said agritourism is a growing trend that rakes in money for farmers as people are hungry for knowledge.
“Farmers charge visitors sh20,000 to sh50,000 for farm visits,” he said.
LEAD PTOTO CAPTION: Allan Patrick Iga of Fodder Feeds teaching. (Credit: Willy Semanda)
