Michael J Ssali
Farming is an enterprise on which about 70 percent of families in Uganda depend for a living. Most people practice farming to satisfy their basic needs such as food, clothing, housing, taking their children to good schools, and generally to improve their standard of living. And for the enterprise to be well paying, good planning is important.
The first consideration is acquisition of land. The size of the land usually determines the size of the enterprise. It also determines what farming enterprise to undertake. If you have a small piece of land like one or two acres you might not succeed as a sugarcane or maize farmer. Yet such an amount of land could be enough for large scale poultry and beekeeping. The farm should be close enough to a permanent source of water. Another consideration is whether the land is rented or really owned by the intending farmer. It could be “kibanja” or title land. This determines whether the farmer can put up strong buildings or other infrastructure like water pipes.
There has to be a budget or some money (capital) to purchase tools such as hoes, wheelbarrows, spray pumps, and items like vaccines and agrochemicals. There should be a plan for dealing with crop or livestock diseases which often worry farmers.
The land should be fertile enough, especially if crop production is in the picture. However, even if the land is fertile it is the farmer’s primary responsibility to maintain its good health and productivity. That is why there ought to be a budget for regular soil testing and constant manure or fertiliser application.
Another big consideration is labour. Often the farmer needs some extra hands to accomplish the work on the farm. The labourers must be hard working. They must be honest and reliable. But they must be promptly and fairly paid, especially if they are skilled and doing the work well. They will go elsewhere to find work if their working conditions are not favourable.
It is also important to consider the marketability of the farm product. Who needs your farm products? It is no use producing a lot of vegetables in a rural area where all the neighbours are farmers and can easily produce their own vegetables for eating unless there is a quick transport system to take the vegetables to the city where the market is big.
