Luuka farmer builds school with proceeds from farming

I am Eva Namayanja, a resident of Bukanga village, Bukanga Sub-county, Luuka District. I am a primary school teacher, by profession, and a farmer, by occupation. I am into piggery and vegetables.

How I got started
I quit teaching in 1997 so that I can start my own school. Also, I had bought a piece of land in Bukanga trading centre but had no money to put the plan into practice. I needed more than Shs5m to start a school of two classes, which money I did not have.

At some point life became hard and I contemplated going back to the school I was teaching but my name had been struck off the government payroll. Furthermore, I had also seen a number of traders from Kampala combing villages while looking for pigs to buy but because few people were into piggery, they would not find the number they wanted. So, I decided to put my savings into pigs and vegetables as the market was high in Jinja, Iganga and Kamuli.

Pigs
For a start, I bought a three-months-old sow (female pig) at Shs12,000. It was a cross of Large White and local breed. I bought it because of its intensive growth and resilience, can weigh up to 125kg at maturity, does not have a lot of fat, and has a hard skin.

At six months, the pig produced 14 piglets. When they were two months old, I sold seven of them at Shs14,000 each, earning Shs980,000.

Now I had eight pigs, all of them female. I used part of this money to expand the shelter. Since the number had increased, looking after them became a bit hard; I lost one piglet due to swine fever attack. I got a veterinary doctor who treated them before the whole unit was attacked by the disease. The food, which I was getting free from schools around, was no longer enough. So, I had to buy maize bran to supplement.

The sows, including the parent sow got pregnant. When they produced, there were 57 piglets. At two months, I sold 25 piglets at Shs15,000 each and got Shs375,000. After about eight months, out of the 32 pigs, I sold 20 at Shs120,000 each and earned Shs2.4m. Recently, I sold two big boars (male pigs) at Shs550,000 each.

Currently, there are 15 pigs, two male and 13 female. I keep it small because it is expensive to manage when it is big. I bought two acres of land where I built a school and also started vegetable growing.

Vegetables
One year ago, I started vegetable growing to diversify my income. I have an acre of egg plants. I made a nursery bed and after one month, I transplanted the seedlings to the main garden. I used cow dung and compost manure in the garden. At only two months, I started harvesting eggplants.

I sell to schools around and to traders from Luuka and Iganga towns. The price depends on the market supply. When there is low supply on the market, I sell a 100kg sack at Shs70,000 but when the supply is high is sell it at Shs30,000. I harvest twice a week. In a week, I can earn about Shs150,000.

Achievements
I have used some of my savings to start a school called Bukanga Trinity Primary School. So far, there are four permanent classrooms and will construct more classes. There are 450 pupils with a boarding section.

Challenges
The high cost of looking after pigs is the biggest challenge I face since pigs often fall sick. Because of this, they need regular treatment. Secondly, traders pay us little money compared on what they get when they sell pork. From a 125kg pig they can get Shs1m but they pay us Shs500,000.