By Umar Nsubuga
Every farmer strives to grow as much food as possible to feed the family and have a surplus for sale. Cassava, sweet potatoes and bananas are common crops that ensure that food is on our table.
Maize, millet and sorghum are the other crops that give us food security.
Farmers must also plant cash crops like coffee, tea, cotton and sugar cane. Then there is the planting of other crops like beans, groundnuts and soybeans. In addition, it is advisable to plant vegetables like cabbages, tomatoes and onions.
Once the rains come, farmers struggle to grow as many different crops as possible. In most instances, families will only harvest the types of food that they planted a few months earlier. Often farmers are overwhelmed by the many types of crops they must plant.
Gideon Zakka, an agronomist says late planting can cause very poor yields, sometimes complete loss. To avoid this, Zakka says it is important to prioritise the planting of the types of crops.
“The first step towards a successful planting season is to have the gardens prepared in time,” he says.
The farmer waits for the rain, not the other way around. Since the majority of farmers here depend on the rains, they need to have the gardens cleared well before the rains start.
To get maximum benefits from the rains, Zakka says crops that need more rain to perform well should be planted first. The longer a crop needs to mature, the earlier it is planted.
For instance, maize, millet, sorghum, groundnuts and soybeans should be planted at the beginning of the rains, at times dry-planted in the dust when the rains are very near.
According to Zakka, fast-maturing crops like beans and vegetables should also be planted early to provide food security as the farmers await longer maturing crops to ripen.
Crops like bananas, coffee and cocoa need the ground to be saturated with water, as they need a lot of moisture to establish the root system.
They should be planted before the rains have become steady. The plantlets should be watered twice a day. Fruit similar treatment.
Sweet potatoes and cassava can be planted after the other crops, because, after they have been established, these crops can withstand dry spells f0r several days.
