Seedlings grow Ssebunya’s fortune

Ssebunya explains how he tends to his tree seedlings. The farmer earns Shs10m on average in a given season. Photo by George Katongole

What you need to know:

  • There is big market for the seedlings in the country. The ideal site of tree nursery should be along a main road, writes Christine Katende.
  • Ssebunya has 30 different types of trees. But the ones with the highest demand are eucalyptus – E. grandis, E. urophylla and E. camaldulensis.
  • Others that have demand include cypress (especially for fencing), casuarina and grevillea. People also buy fruit tree seedlings such as grafted mangoes, avocados and oranges.

The nursery tree seed business has been on for years with many people along the different streets getting involved.

Stanley Ssebunya Musujja is one of them and has been in the business for 15 years. He is a nursery tree seed farmer and manager Ever green nursery.

Fresh from the university, Ssebunya started in 2000 on a small scale. “My elder brother used to trade in nursery tree seed business around Nakawa during the 90s but he shifted to Ddundu.

It is him who encouraged to plant trees,” he says. Ssebunya is stationed at Ddundu village, about 30 kilometres from Gayaza town and he is operating on three and a half acres of land.

Seed origination
Ssebunya has 30 different types of trees. But the ones with the highest demand are eucalyptus – E. grandis, E. urophylla and E. camaldulensis.

Others that have demand include cypress (especially for fencing), casuarina and grevillea. People also buy fruit tree seedlings such as grafted mangoes, avocados and oranges.

However, the farmer has introduced other species such as Moringa oleifera, Elgon teak and the Night tulip, among other indigenous species.

Maintenance
“I started with a capital of Shs2m loan from Opportunity Bank. By then, I used to pay people to fetch water from the nearby stream for watering the seedlings every day,” he says. On days such as Sunday, he goes to the farm with his children to water the trees to save costs.

However, in 2016, Ssebunya picked more money from the bank and acquired a solar powered water pump and an overhead tank, which has really simplified his work.

During the day, the machine pumps water to the tank, then from there he uses pipes to water the seedlings. “This helped me increase the stock from 170,000 in 2015 to 250,000 at the moment,” he says.

“Right now, I employ three young men who help me in mixing soil with manure, planting the seeds into sleeves and watering the seedlings in the nursery.”

“There is big market for the seedlings in around the country that one cannot satisfy. That’s why I am looking for a bigger space so that I double the size of my nursery,” he says.

Earning
Apart from grafted trees, all other trees retail at Shs500 per seedling. “So if I sell what I have right now, I can get more than Shs10m which is the average income per rainy season.”

“This has helped me take my children to school, where one of them has just finished her undergraduate degree and the other a diploma course. This is my main source of livelihood and I will plant trees until I retire.”

Challenges
According to Ssebunya, there are pests one has to deal with such as termites and crickets, which feed on the trees.

“But I keep on managing them using appropriate pesticides.” The other challenge is that animals feed on the tree seedlings, especially if the nursery is not manned.

The ban on use of plastic bags has also come with its challenges. “I have to transit to the eco-friendly packs but the thing is that I have to source them from Kampala and other towns.”

Market
The farmer has always relied on individual customers from major towns such as Nakasongola, Luweero, Masindi and Mbarara among others. He says people also come from as far as Kabale District to buy his tree seedlings.

“Most people prefer this nursery because I have healthy seedlings throughout the year, now that I do not rely on rainfall. The secret is that whenever I sell say 10,000 seedlings, I replace them immediately so that there is no gap. People also prefer my nursery because I have different varieties that are always ready for planting.”

Advice
“The most important thing is to find out what type of trees are marketable in a given area. Then identify the ideal site for setting up a nursery,” Ssebunya says.

“The best place should be along the main road so that motorists and other road users can see the seedlings. Then it must be closer to a source of water because tree seedlings need constant watering unless there is rainfall. Tap water is not ideal for watering the seedlings because it is usually chlorinated; the chemical is not friendly to trees.”

What he plans ahead
With the shelter he has already put in place, Ssebunya eyes investing in high breed eucalyptus. He says the crone type of eucalyptus from South Africa trades more. With this type, a farmer only pots the small branches cut from the tree as opposed to the indigenous breed where he has to start with planting seeds.

Ssebunya is yet to plant a mother garden of crone eucalyptus, this will cover two acres off the leased land he acquired from government. He paid Shs50m for the 50 years lease.