By Vision Reporter
Tom Okao has emerged the best farmer in the mid-northern region in this year’s Vision Group Best Farmers’ competitions.
Okao is a progressive farmer engaged in poultry and goat farming on a small piece of land but earning sh130m annually.
“I don’t want to be in town anymore. I retreated here and started re-organizing my home for retirement,” Okao says of his Eco-Harvest farm at Otono `B` village, Ober parish in Bar sub county, 10km East of Lira city.
Okao, 50, and the chief executive officer of Fountainhead Institute of management and technology located in Lira City is reaping big from his farming project, which he ventured into three years ago.
Before he could kick off with the project in 2021, Okao scanned the market availability both locally, and nationally then risks associated with the enterprise.
“We were afraid because we didn’t want to produce what is not consumed locally but only internationally,” he noted.
….
This is the ninth year running that Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, are running the Best Farmers competition. The 2024 competition run from March to November, culminating in today’s awards ceremony.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Okao receiving his award from Guid Stevens, the country manager Koudijs during the 2024 Best Farmers Awards. Photo by Moses Nsubuga