Titus Kasujja’s commitment to dairy farming is paying off

Established in 2016 by Titus Kasujja and wife Lydia, Ziroobwe Demonstration Farm (Zidefa) is admirable.
Ziroobwe in Luweero District is now the new hub for agriculture in Uganda.
About four or five years ago, an acre of land was sold for as low as Shs3m but it has gone up to more than Shs30m at the current rates.
Kasujja’s childhood dream was never in agriculture as all his five degrees he obtained from Denmark do not relate to what he prides in now.
He has graduated as an electrician, multimedia designer, industry operator, production engineer and technical isolator.
The 52-year-old has invested up to Shs3bn in just two years on a 400-acre farm with an estimated 100-acre buffer for the community.
The farm produces more than 1500 litres of milk per day where a cow produces between 25-30 litres of milk on average per day. This fetches him up to Shs44m weekly.
He is not your usual farmer as he meticulously goes about his business which is managed by the mother company, Danish Agro Connect (DAC) which has headquarters at Ntinda, a Kampala suburb.

Starting out
The farm started as a family business in 2008 in Najeera, Kira Town Council as a smallscale poultry and fishing project.
“It was just a hobby for us with just four cows we thought could provide milk to the family,” he recalls.
Two years later, Kasujja bought land in Ziroobwe where they ventured into piggery, dairy cattle keeping, cereals and banana growing.
The farm currently occupies 400 acres of land with 170 dairy cattle that graze on an open field.
Some of the other land is occupied by crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes and maize.
He supplemented the savings of about Shs800m he accumulated in Denmark with an agricultural loan of Shs400m from the Microfinance Support Centre.
Most of Kasujja’s life has been in Denmark where he has lived and worked for 30 years.

Why he invested in dairy-farming
Putting all the frustrations behind him, Kasujja was not ready to suffer with problems in Uganda where herds are partly poor due to co-efficient inbreeding of their cattle. He sought out VikingGenetics to use their proven crossbreeding programme known as ProCROSS.
Most of his calves are first generation and with only two years in the business, he says the future is bright.
He advises that farmers to plan ahead because herds grow quicker which means too many calves. His option is to sell off some of the calves to other farmers.
His high quality 18-months calves are sold at Shs3m while a pregnant cow is at Shs5.5m.
“Everything starts with thinking, that becomes a thought and that gives birth to action,” Kasujja says. He plans to grow his farm into a reputable centre of excellence to train other farmers. He has established a hall which will be used by tutors.

Local market
In Uganda milk and milk products are mostly got from cattle and a small percentage from goats and sheep. The districts of Mbarara, Moroto, Bushenyi, Kotido, Nakasongola, Masaka, Mbale, Kabarole, Mukono, Ntungamo and Kamuli dominate production in this sector.
The cattle population in Uganda was last estimated as per the 2008 livestock census to be 11.4m. It is also estimated that Uganda currently produces 1- 1.5 billion litres of milk per year of which 30 per cent is consumed by households and 70 per cent is sold.
“Milk consumption in Uganda is low yet the market for dairy products is growing,” he says.
Kasujja says in the future when his farm is at full potential, he plans to try the export market. Kasujja has already laid out plans to comply with the rigorous quality control requirements.
He is tapping into a big potential. In Uganda, a big number of families consume unprocessed milk sold at the retail price of Shs1,400 for a litre as compared to processed milk which is sold at Shs2,000 a litre.

Challenges
Kasujja thinks the biggest challenge facing dairy farmers is the inadequate man power.
“We do not have up-to-date veterinary doctors. The ones I know simply prescribe,” he says.
He also blames workers most of whom he says are lazy.
He believes most of them work simply for the money yet their carelessness can cost a farmer huge investments.
Diseases remain the biggest challenge to dairy farmers in Uganda. Kasujja has the necessary drugs he uses to prevent huge losses.
His herd is also on an open field grazing which he says is not ideal for adequate milk production.

Kasujja’s tips
Feeding
He uses a lot of food supplements from Denmark especially, plant elephant grass in advance. This will ensure the cows are fed adequately. He says that the better cows are fed, the higher the milk yields.
Purchase of cows
His trick is to buy any cows from farmers and then he applies his high quality semen imported from Vikings Genetics in Denmark. He says that is a cheaper option to double the stock quickly. He for instance sells an 18-month calf at Shs3m and a pregnant cow at Shs5.5m which he says is a huge cost to a start up.
Tight supervision
He says that if you leave most of the work to employees, you are bound to lose.
He said: “They are very careless minding about completing their work hours rather than looking after your animals.” He advises visiting the farm thrice or four times a week announced.

Technical support
Visit a demonstration farm that practices good farm management to improve your knowledge.
He says that it’s easier learning from others rather than making costly errors as one attempts to learn on the job.
He thinks modern farmers can also use YouTube to find best practices from farmers across the globe.

Records
Keep farm records to ensure you can assess your daily milk yields as well as assess the quality of your milk.
This will be particularly necessary as you expand and want to supply the larger scale milk processors.
He advises farmers to acquire some tools like a lactometer to measure the purity and richness of milk.
Water
He stressed that farmers must ensure there is sufficient water nearby.
Cows drink a lot of water and hence you either need a tank or as you advance, construct a bore hole to provide the water. He has five dams with the biggest with over 2,000,000 litres.

Value addition
He says that some seasons are bad for dairy farmers and he advises farmers to think of value addition activities.
He uses some of the milk from his farm to make ice cream at his Zidefa outlet in Kasangati.