What should we expect from the up country farm clinics?

Dear reader: There is something for everyone at the different farm clinics. Farmers will be able to identify pests and diseases, know best crop varieties, learn how to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security.
Others to look out for are;
1. Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters through practical training and dissemination of simplified information
2. Better understanding of policy, strategy and practice towards creating green economy pathways and the role of clean energy and low carbon development options
3. Improve awareness on climate change mitigation, adaptation and impact reduction
4. Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change related planning and management across Uganda
5. Creating linkages to improved investment opportunities in climate data and information management, policy analysis and implementation.
6. Strengthen professional networking to promote active debate on issues and to provide the foundation for more analytical work.

Meet the Daily Monitor Farm Clinic facilitators

Dr Moses Dhikusooka
He is a Veterinary Doctor with a PHD in disease control and disease surveillance will be specifically looking at dairy farming.
He has a vast experience in writing training materials for dairy, chicken and feeding as well as management programmes.
He is a research officer at National Agricultural Research Organisation in Mbarara District.
He is expected to tip farmers and stakeholders on how to do livestock in a profitable manner and also plan good farming practices that can help them have feeds for their animals throughout the season.
“People may live in livestock farming areas but productivity of grazing land depends highly on good management practices and grazing methods that require intense supervision from not only managers but from owners as well,” he says.

Julius Peter Ahangaana
He is a farm manager at Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyoro. Ahangaana is an agronomist by training with specialisation in passion fruit farming. He is also a passion fruit farmer for his personal gains.
He says people should expect to know the varieties of passion fruits, their propagation, side direction of passion fruits, agronomical practices, diseases and pest management and marketing as well as value addition.

Sedrach Muhangi
He has a Master’s degree in Agriculture and rural innovations and specialised in Banana management.
He is slated to tip farmers on good farm management practices on a banana farm.
“People should expect to learn the commercial varieties as they move from subsistence farming,” says Muhangi.
He says people will be informed about pests and diseases that affect their banana, proper mulching and spacing for better yields as well as land preparations before establishing a banana crop.

John Bosco Muhumuza
He is a crop entomologist specialised in passion fruits. Muhumuza is a research officer based at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) in Mbarara District.
At the upcoming Monitor Farm Clinic, Muhumuza will tip farmers and stakeholders on issues to do with agronomic practices in regard to planting preparations, laying structure where to plant passion fruits as well as pests and disease management.

Prospects at the farm clinics

This year’s series of Farm clinics seek to bring together farmers and other stakeholders for more practical training on growing a number of crops and rearing livestock.
The training bears in mind the changing climate routines that call for smart farming practices, as the clinics’ theme suggests.
The biggest take away will be smart agricultural technologies that will in turn increase yields amid unpredictable patterns of rainfall.
Sarah Nalule, Monitor Publications Limited marketing manager, notes that the farm clinics to be held across the country shall sensitise farmers on how to use smart agricultural technologies as a way of increasing productivity, while at the same time addressing effects of climate change.
“Companies that have registered for the first ever climate change smart agriculture Farm Clinic include MTK Uganda which deals in animal drugs and health products, Quality Chemicals which deals in animal drugs, Novus and Vitalac, which deals in animal nutrition and Seed Co, a seeds supplier,” she says.
The clinics will also have participants tour the Mbarara Zonal Agriculture Research and Development Institute to get hands-on exposure to expert knowledge for better products.
Moses Dhikusooka, a livestock researcher and expert in disease surveillance, and also one of the facilitators at the clinic, has pledged to share a number of good practices that bring in profits, adding that farming should not only be done as a hobby but have returns.
“After the training, farmers should not only be willing to learn but also change,” says Dhikusooka, adding that research is being conducted and there are solutions to solve problems that farmers are facing.
“With modern techniques that farmers are going to be equipped with, they should be able to farm with confidence,” he says.
The farm clinics according, to John Bosco Muhumuza, a research officer at Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, will enable farmers access important and easily applicable information.
“They will learn a lot by seeing how it is done other than mere hearing and reading in publications,” he says.
Julius Peter Ahangaana, a passion fruit specialist and agronomist at Makerere University Research Institute in Kabanyolo, believes farmers will benefit which will in turn increase their yields amid unreliable rain levels.

Did you know?

To cull or keep a dairy herd?

Culling decisions have a significant influence on the economic performance of dairy farms. Often, the decision is made in a non-fashioned way based partly on intuition and experience of the farmer.
As a tool in farm management, culling can be of benefit or very costly if a thorough formal economic analysis is not properly done.
Today, we share what should influence the decision on whether to keep or replace that cow without hitting your profits.
Broadly, cow factors such as health status, age, reproductive performance, milk yield and stage of lactation help in making the decision.
In one way or another, they all contribute to farm economics, as you know culling is all about maximising profits and minimising losses.
Thus, before culling, analyse major farm financial components such as income vs expenses.
In this case, it will be beneficial to calculate the future possible revenue vis a vis costs you associate with the victim cow(s), taking into account all relevant opportunities and risks.
Here is what will help you make the decision:
Milk yield
With good milk yield, a farm is able to put a balance between inputs and outputs. It, therefore, means that any cow that is not able to break even despite all factors remaining constant is not fit for to stay.
Some owners can keep the cow with low milk yield for good fertility reasons, to complete the lactation cycle and then cull her to benefit from their calves.