20 Ways to Make Ksh. 2.5 M per month running an Agricultural Business

Josephine Kiiza, director of St Jude Family
Projects at Busense, Kabonera subcounty in
Masaka, is of the most successful farmers in
Uganda.

At St. Jude family agricultural projects, they
practice and train farmers in modern Integrated
Organic Farming, a technology where various
items on the farm - plants, animals, water and
soils, are in such a way contributes directly or
indirectly to the other.

A new vision article published in october 2005 ,
mentions that Josephine Kiiza earns Kenyan
shillings 2.5 million ($25,000) per month from
her 3.7 acre farm. She farm has She probably
earns more money now.

Using the St. Jude family projects, as our case
study, we are going to try answering the
question below.

As a young farmer, how can you earn 2.5 million
($25,000) or better still earn more money from your
agricultural business?

Activities at St. Jude family projects in Masaka, with
which they are earning a living:

1. Rearing exotic cattle - keep just the right
number of breeds for mostly producing milk.

Do not keep 1000 herds of cattle when your
land can only support 6, just because you
have them. Chicken droppings when treated,
are also used to feed cattle. Acquire breeds
that produce alot of milk, disease resistant,
grow fast to weigh alot.

2. Crops - “ The crops depend on the animals and the
animals depend on the crops " says Josephine Kiiza.
Crops such as maize bran, cotton seed cake,
soya are good fodder for animals after the
fruit has been harvested.

3. Training - naturally, if your agricultural
business is doing very well, so many people
are going to be interested in learning how you
are doing it, at a fee. So perfect the art of
earning money from your agricultural
business and training offers will flow in. as
many people as you possibly can. 

Do not discriminate who can receive your knowledge
and expertise. Share your success stories with
whoever wants to know. Because you are
willing to help other people succeed, more
people will also want to help you succeed.

4. Solar fruit drying - you dry fruits such as
jackfruit, sweet bananas, pineapples,
tomatoes, mangoes, gonja and exporting them
to markets such as Europe at more than Ksh.2500
per kilo. Also setting up a cereal bank for
surplus food crops that can be used up during
seasons of scarcity is a good idea. Check out
our resources page for a solar fruit drying
manual.

 

5. Bee keeping - St. Jude family projects has
over 20 beehives from which they harvest
honey for export at about Kshs.550 ($5.5) per
kilo. 

You also get Bee propolis, bee wax,
pollination of crops. If you need a
comprehensive manual on bee keeping, check
out our resources page.

6. Fish farming - harvesting fish after 8months,
with a piece of fish selling for Kshs.610. Cow
dung, maize flour and rotting vegetables are
good food for fish in the ponds. 

Fighting snakes - place boiled eggs along pond's
boundaries, which when swallowed by snake
cannot be digested hence killing it. Also
polythene sheets around the pond which
snakes do not like. Scarecrows and placing
damaged tape films across the ponds which
make a whistling noise as wind blows scares
birds away that want to eat the fish. Check
out our resources page for a fish fishing
manual.

7. Bio gas generation - Most valuable are the
animals and birds droppings and organic crop
waste which are used to generate biogas used
for cooking, reducing time required to
prepare meals.

8. Chicken rearing - At St. Jude family projects,
they started with 10 local cocks and layers
and some exotic species for cross-breeding.

Local chicken are disease-resistant, mature
and grow fast when well fed. When they are
between six to seven months, they weigh four
to five kilogrammes.

“We sell them at Ksh.915 each,” she says. Check out our
resources page for a chicken rearing manual.

9. Pig rearing - "two types of breeds, large white
and land race." They feed twice a day on
concentrates of maize bran, cotton seed cake,
soya, fishmeal and anthill soil, which is rich
in iron. Pigs weigh over 200kg, whose
droppings are used to make biogas and
composite manure for crops.

Pork is often more expensive than beef with asking price
for kilo as 900/=. Check out our resources
page for a pig rearing manual.

10. Grafting - Nursery of grafted fruit tree
cuttings; fast growing fruit trees such as
mangoes, oranges, lemons, avocado and
passion fruit creepers. So many farmers still
do not know how to apply this technique on
their farms, providing such seedlings can be a
great income source.

11. Fuel saving stoves and fireplaces - bringing the
technology of fuel saving stoves closer to your
community at a time when firewood is
becoming more scarce and expensive can be
very a great income source. Often the stoves
are easy to make out of clay using a do-it-
yourself method.

12. Mushroom and Vegetables growing - Mushrooms
are a delicacy but they are not easy for young
farmers to grow. Check out our resources
page for a mushrooms and vegetable growing
manuals.

13. Rainwater harvesting - collecting roof water
whenever it rains and keeping it in an
underground tank is an often neglected way
to have access to water especially in places
where water sources are very far off. 

Having a big water storage tank can quickly become
a goldmine during the dry seasons when
water becomes extremely scarce and thus
more expensive. Check out our resources page
for a rainwater harvesting manual.

14. Making compost manure - livestock and poultry
droppings are used both as compost and
renewable source of biogas. Organic waste
from vegetables or from cooking at home can
also be thrown onto the manure heap instead
of becoming a hygiene problem as in many
communities.

15. Rearing exotic goats for milk and meat - fast
growing and high producing goats are now
available. 

In their prime, milk goats can
produce about 4 liters of milk every
day. Check out our resources page for a goats
rearing manual.

16. Methods of irrigation (drip irrigation, plant tea
irrigation) - most farmers only depend on the
rainy season which has become very
unpredictable. 

More than ever, more farmers
need to learn and use irrigation as a method
of growing food. Africa needs to spend less
money on importing food plus feeding our
ever growing population.

17. Provide accommodation for visitors - if you can,
set up structures for housing visitors who
come to visit your agricultural projects. This
is a generous way to contribute to the
sustainability of your farm. 

When you provide accommodation, make sure the
visitors eat food and products produced on
the farm such as eggs, chicken, milk,
vegetables, bananas...

18. Share what you are doing and your farming
success with the rest of the community any
way you can.

19. Network with other farmer groups or agricultural
institutions - do not stay in one corner with
what you are doing, and stop learning.

Networking and learning how other farmers
and experts are doing, is a good way to know
what works and adopting new farming
methods that increase production. Check out
our resources page for a farmer's
communities and publications.

20. Plant trees - fruit trees, medicine trees for
their shade and environmental
protection. Neem trees are useful for healing
many diseases and repelling
mosquitoes. Mangoes and Mutuba tree leaves
are good fodder for goats and shade. Trees
planted along trenches control soil erosion.
They also are used to provide wood for fuel.

21. Take it a step further, use information
communication technologies (ICTs) to improve
your agricultural business. Also having the 5
important skill sets for running a successful
agricultural business that most farmers are
not aware of, would be very good.

As a young farmer, you can do this and earn this
much or even more sums of money from
practicing agriculture. 

Do not let anything
frustrate your efforts from becoming a successful
young farmer .

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