Vegetables for the high-end market

One the different activities around the farm. Photo by Dominic Bukenya

On a hot Sunday afternoon, a farmworker perched on top of a ladder is scrubbing the netting of a greenhouse. Luckily, this part of the farm has a shade from a cluster of trees. As his co-workers send him water to pour on the netting, John Musajjakawa stands below the ladder, giving instructions as he supervises the work.
“Greenhouses require a certain level of cleanliness,” he tells me. “We scrub the netting to remove fungi that sticks to it, preventing air from circulating.” The fungi are visible on unscrubbed parts of the netting.

Greenhouses
Five greenhouses are spread across the upper part of the farm. They are locally made, with the netting and polythene being the only items they bought. The poles are from the farm and the farmworkers are the ones that set up the structures.
Inside each greenhouse are rows of black plastic bags, each filled with soil. Some of the rows have fully grown cherry tomato plants; there are different varieties—black plume, red, yellow and white. In addition to these, Musajjakawa is trying out another variety known as Josephine.
Since the plants are supported on sisal strings attached to the roof to keep them off the ground. They must be three to four weeks old before they are stringed.
The tomato plants are in two categories—determined and undetermined. The undetermined types have longer stalks, which are allowed to collapse. Their fruit can be harvested continuously for four to six months. The determined type is harvested for three weeks, like the ordinary tomato plants.

“The soil I use in the plastic bags is from Nakaseke because the one in this place has tomato wilt,” Musajjakawa points out.
Planting is done in phases so that there is a steady supply line to the market. Although only four rows have grown plants, other rows have tiny plants, while others have just been planted. “Greenhouses provide optimum temperature for the growth of the plants. The netting protects the plants from insects, diseases and heavy rains.”

The open gardens
Further away from the greenhouses, as the land slopes towards a forest, are gardens of lettuce and other herbs. Some of them are in fallow (and have been for four to six months), while the others have different varieties of lettuce at various stages of growth.
“The outdoors is the best environment for lettuces to grow because the sunlight is good,” he says. “However, as a precaution, I use one greenhouse to grow more lettuce.
In the unfortunate case of sudden heavy rains, there is less risk of losing the crop. When the season is good, I use this greenhouse for cucumber.”

Musajjakawa agrees that the colour and taste of the lettuce grown in the greenhouse is slightly different from those in the gardens. This is because only 70 per cent of sunlight reaches the greenhouse.
The lettuce here include Red Leaf, Oak Leaf, Romaine, and Butter. There is also bitter lettuce, which Musjjakawa claims, has malaria-preventing properties. The herbs or other vegetables intercropped with the lettuce include radishes, parsley and salad rocket.

Drip irrigation
The farm is supplied with water from a pump located in the forest at the lower end of the farm. The plants are irrigated using a drip irrigation system. A network of pipes crisscrosses the farm; the narrow tubes are tied above the soil mounds in which the plants grow, both in the greenhouse and in the gardens.
When the pipes are opened, the narrow tubes deliver water directly into the soil, one drop at a time. “We open the pipes for about 30 minutes at a time, to avoid drenching the soil.”
As part of their social responsibility, the people who live nearby are allowed to collect water from the farm free of charge.

Fertilising
In the greenhouses, each plastic bag contains five kilogrammes of soil. “The bags have enough space for the roots of the plants to grow well, otherwise, the plants can get stressed,” says Musajjakawa.
The soil is fertilised using animal waste, which is collected from three zero-grazing cows on the farm. “This is a purely organic farm. We do not use chemicals to fertilise the soil, or making the vegetables grow. The urine and dung from the cows are collected and transferred to the gardens.
The urine is kept in a collection point, dug in the ground, for a maximum of seven days. “It is a cycle because the cows produce the manure [waste] and they eat the waste from the plants.”

The nursery
The smaller of the greenhouses is used as a nursery for the plants. There are more than 20 seed trays, which are laid on wooden slabs above the ground. “I produce my own seedlings,” says the farmer. “I order the seeds from US and Europe. If I am to sell the seedlings, each goes for Shs 1,800.”
The tomato seed trays (four in number) contain 346 plants each while the lettuce trays (20 of them) contain 166 plants each.

The market
The vegetables are sold to a niche market made up mainly of high-end specialised restaurants whose customers appreciate the value of raw salads. “Some of the vegetables, especially the lettuce, are grown on order. Restaurateurs order the tomato on the vine, before they have even ripened.”
The tomatoes take about 75 days to mature. The radishes take about 21 days (three weeks). “Trends are turning to herbs and salads nowadays; there is ready market. A big bunch of lettuce is at Shs5,000 while a small one is Shs1,000. A cluster of salad rocket, with nine stalks, goes for Shs3,500. A tray of cherry tomatoes costs Shs 10,000 at farm gate.”

Getting the idea
“I am well-travelled and had meals in good places,” says Musajjakawa. “What I brought back were the techniques and experience I gained, and put them into practice in a way that makes economic sense.”
The 62-year-old farmer recalls how the investment idea came about. “I once went to buy tomatoes. I felt it and the skin was not soft. When I told the lady selling them, she replied that if I did not like her tomatoes, I should use tomato sauce.”
His irritation at the response got him thinking. He already had the land and it had its own natural source of water. “It is a ‘dirty job’ but this kind of job pays. I come here every day after 5pm, when I leave my white collar job. I am a happy man because I am doing something I love. This is my passion.

Future plans
When Kuroiler chicken from India were introduced, Musajjakawa was among the first farmers to rear them. However, due to their profitability, thieves broke into the farm and stole them.
“I do not want to waste the space I had built for the chickens. Now, I am converting the building into a piggery. There are twelve pens now and each will contain a litter of pigs. In total, there will be about 100 pigs.”
Behind the greenhouses is a small strip of land, which has about 30 pawpaw trees, heavily laden with fruits. “I got the seedlings from India. They are of the Maradol Papaya variety and are red in colour. The trees are supposed to produce fruits for 10 years.”
Musajjakawa says the pawpaw trees are in a trial period, which has been successful. He plans to plant 20 to 40 acres of pawpaws in Kayunga District for commercial purposes.

Advice to those intending to farm
“If you do not have a passion for it, then do not bother to do it. People have to know how investment decisions are made. I have managed to open up my own niche market because I had a plan and goals.”
He advises the youth to think outside the box when it comes to farming. “Do not grow the usual crops. Just because they worked for someone does not mean you will reap out of them. Make good research on the availability of the market before you decide what to grow.”