What to consider when deciding to set up a farm

You want to become a farmer and you are perhaps thinking about purchasing land where you would like the farm to be located. Farming is about managing plants and livestock. It is also about soil quality and water availability. If you are going into fish farming it is out of question that you will need a fishpond.

Fish never live outside water. It will have to be fresh flowing water, a little detached from the swamp, the river, or the lake to avoid your fish running away or wild beasts such as snakes and crocodiles gaining easy access to your farmed fish. It should be a pond whose bottom or ground does not easily allow water seepage.

If you are going into crop production, you will need an area where the soil is suitable for plant growth. It should have sufficient and well distributed rainfall. This may not be an issue if you want to grow crops that take a few months to mature --- maize, beans, and groundnuts. Some parts of Uganda get a lot of rain for just about four months in a year and are dry for the rest of the year.

Such areas will be unsuitable for crops such as coffee, cocoa, and bananas unless there is a provision for irrigation. If you want to keep animals or poultry, go for a place where there is a permanent source of water for the animals and birds to drink.

In the distant past pastoralists would wander in the jungles finding water for their animals. These days some people may store valuable amounts of rainwater harvested during the rain seasons. Where rainfall is insufficient it is likely that there will not be enough grass.

This means the farmer should have the capacity to make hay and silage. If you choose to locate your farm on a steep slope it is important that you prepare to guard it against soil erosion by running water. Seek a place that is not very far from public transport. It should have good roads because you will need to take your products to the market.

Some traders will want to come from far away towns to your farm to make purchases. They might not manage to drive across collapsing bridges and muddy, slippery roads. Your children will need easy access to a good school.

Michael J Ssali is a veteran journalist, [email protected]