‘WhatsApp group inspired me into farming’

A farmer feeds goats in the fields. File photo

What you need to know:

Many use social media to share clips and jokes but for Mathew Nabwiso, he got ideas to invest in farming. He told Christine Katende the story

My name is Mathew Nabwiso. I am an actor, head of the communications department at Balton Uganda, and also a farmer.
I got involved in farming about a year ago after being inspired by a WhatsApp group that I was part of.

It is known as Federation of Agribusiness Networks Uganda or FABNU in short. The group comprises people in different professions and in the corporate world who were engaged in farming.

In addition to occasional face-to-face meetings, they keep in touch through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram.

Also, the company I work for has various sections, including one that covers agriculture.
Therefore, I figured out that it would be a good idea to invest in farming, agriculture being the backbone of our country’s economy.

I would start it now when I am younger compared to when I am older, which has its own challenges.

Goat farming
Around August last year, I decided to start goat farming. I started with three pregnant goats, which I bought in Busega, Kampala at Shs200,000 each. My mother in-law tipped me on where I would get good goats.

Later, I bought two more pregnant goats at the same price. Three months later, I bought five goats at Shs100,000 each. And another 10, four months later, at Shs170,000 each.

A veterinary doctor helped me to identify good breeds. However, these were indigenous breeds, so I decided to add a crossbred Boer to improve the herd, in terms of appearance, meat quality and disease resistance.

My focus was on getting goats, which were at least five months pregnant because they would multiply the numbers faster. Currently, there are 53 goats at the farm in Mukono. They are being reared on a free range system.

Feeding

Nabwiso guides the kids out of the pens. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA


Apart from rearing them on free range, I grow lablab (a type of pasture grass) and also feed them on banana peelings that I collect from the market at Shs4,000 a sack.

I only resort to banana peels only during the dry season. About five sacks are enough to supplement the pasture for a week. The total land size they graze on is 11 acres.

Health maintenance
I hire a veterinary doctor once every two months to check on the goats. I also take initiative to follow up on anything that needs to be done.

To ease the work, I drew up a time table to guide me while undertaking the tasks like is deworming or spraying.
I have learnt a lot from the veterinary doctor and posting any questions or consulting others via the Whatsapp and Telegram groups.

I usually get answers or vital contacts as the FABNU group membership has expanded and diversified. Because it accommodates a big number of people, it has been divided into various sub-groups along different themes and specialities.

The farmers share information on any query raised by any members depending on the farming activity he or she is engaged in. They share lessons learned from their farming experiences thus helping others to learn.

Challenges
It is hard getting committed workers. I have had instances of where a worker takes the goats to graze, brings them back at about 1pm and disappears till 4pm without a genuine explanation.

Achievements
Despite the multiplication, I am yet to reach my target of 500 goats. With this number, I will have the capacity to sell at least one goat a day.

If I sold a carcass weight of 20 kilogrammes at Shs150,000 every day, I would earn about Shs4.5m a month.
Nevertheless, I castrate the males to avoid inbreeding. I have maintained the Boer to mate with the others but I will get rid of it before it mates with its offsprings.

So far, I have invested about Shs16m since I started the farm.
I collect the goats droppings and use them as manure in the vegetable garden. I also give it free to other farmers who are interested. No matter the quantity, I do not sell the droppings to other farmers.

Plans
I am looking forward to investing in ginger and mangoes. I want to buy at least five acres of land to plant the mangoes because they have a ready market and always in demand. I plan to have at least 80 trees on an acre.

Each tree can earn about Shs50,000 per season. This means I will be able to collect about Shs40m every season, which comes to Shs80m in a year. I will however buy more land for expansion as time goes on.

vegetables and trees

Vegetables: I have a vegetable garden on a 50x100 plot of land where the rabbit farm is. I used some space to plant onions and green vegetables. I bought the onion seeds from Balton Uganda. A 500gm packet cost Shs30,000.

They have made three months now. I expect to harvest in two weeks. I have already talked to some traders at the market where I buy vegetables on my way home.

They are ready to buy a sack at between Shs180,000 to Shs200,000. I had also grown tomatoes but the crop failed. I did not get any harvest. I think the reason is that I did not take good care of them.

Forestry: There are five acres of land in Iganga where I planted pine trees two years ago. I bought seedlings from National Forest Authority (NFA) at Shs250 each. An acre holds about 180 trees. One of my relatives volunteered to take care of them since he intercrops the trees with his cassava.

Rabbits


I picked interest in rabbits after I visited Jessica Nantale, a rabbit farmer in Buloba. I decided to use the redundant house on the land I bought in Namugongo for this.

I started with 12 indigenous rabbits, which I bought at Shs100,000 from one of the rabbit farmers on the WhatsApp group. Later, I bought 10 New Zealand White nine does (females) and one buck (male) from Nantale at Shs40,000 each.

I have the New Zealand White and California breed. I cross the indigenous with the two exotic breeds. Exotic breeds are heavier compared to the locals and their meat is also richer in protein and has low fat and cholesterol.

There are 60 rabbits; 56 does and four bucks, which are specifically for breeding. I keep them in different cages for easy record-keeping. Last month, I mate them with 20 does. I expect about 25 rabbits if each gives birth to five kits (young rabbits). Rabbits take six to seven months to mature.

I usually take the does to buck’s cage for one or two hours, I let the buck rest for an hour before taking another doe.
A doe is able to deliver a month after mating. The kits suckle for one-and-half months and are then weaned. I feed the rabbits on grass or potato vines, lablab and supplement with pellet feed.

To provide a clean environment, I placed iron sheets under the cages and connected them to a gutter, which collects the urine into a drum.

I sell the rabbit urine. A 20-litre jerrican is Shs50,000-Shs 55,000. Occasionally, I sell the bucks at Shs40,000 each.
Rabbits are naturally active so a dormant or inactive one means something is not right. I check them regularly and consult the vet for advice.

So far, I have lost 15 kits but I am still focused on raising 10,000 rabbits for domestic and export markets. There is a high demand but most hotels in Kampala import rabbit meat from Kenya because there is not enough to sustain the market.

How he strikes a balance between work and farm
I employ two people on each of the two farms but I undertake the management role. My workers only take care of the animals at the farm but never get involved in the business side. No transaction takes place in my absence.

I coordinate the transactions because I know which animal to give away and negotiate the cost. I just control everything but make sure they follow the rules.

I coordinate the projects by ensuring that I equip the workers with knowledge and basic skills.
With this, I take them through the necessary training before employing them on any of my farms and pay them an average of about between Shs100,000 and Shs150,000 per month.

I visit the rabbit farm every day to or from work to check on the progress of the animals since it is near my home. I then visit the goat farm in Mukono over the weekend.

I also bought a bicycle for my worker at the rabbit farm, which he uses to move around in search of feeds for the rabbits.
Apart from communicating on phone, I get time to interact with them (the workers) whenever I go to the farm.