Young farmer pays tuition with pigeon peas proceeds

Growing rare crop species like pigeon peas is highly recommended by agriculturists because they are not only rich in food value but also have high demand on the market. Pigeon peas and cow peas are among other crops farmers in northern Uganda are growing to revive their production. One such a farmer is Mr Gilbert Egwel 26, from Omere village in Apac District. The youthful farmer says he began growing pigeon peas in 2005 when he had just joined Nsamizi Training Institute in Mpigi to pursue his Diploma in Development studies so that he could to raise tuition fees.

Apart from pigeon peas, he also grew other traditional crops such as millet, sorghum, maize, groundnuts and soya beans which he sold to raise enough money for his school fees. Egwel began farming after completing his A’ Level, though on a small scale, to support his mother who was paying his fees solely because his father had many children and was overwhelmed by the school fees burden. He used a 30-acre piece of land purchased by his elder brother within the village vicinity where his mother settled with his siblings.

In 2005, he planted groundnuts and soya beans in the first rainy season and pigeon peas, sorghum, millet and maize in the second. During this time, he used the rudimentary method of farming and gathered young villagemates to plough the land and after, they would eat food prepared by his mother as appreciation. His efforts paid off when he earned between about Shs250, 000 from the proceeds. However in 2005, he started applying modern farming skills. He teamed up with his brother and purchased two oxen plus an ox plough.

He also started growing mangoes and oranges which are occupying three acres of the land. Egwel has so far planted 60 stems of mango and 300 stems of oranges and both are in the fruiting stage. But Egwel’s major focus is in growing pigeon peas because he earns most of his revenue from the plant. Annually, he was able to earn between Shs300,000 to Shs500,000 from pigeon peas proceeds alone. Of all the crops he grows, he has been able to harvest over 10 bags of pigeon peas where 1kg of the peas is sold for between Shs1,500 to Shs2,000 depending on the location of the market. Most of his buyers are traders dealing in food items but within northern Uganda because this type of peas is mostly consumed in this region.

Although Egwel was earning Shs300,000 annually in 2003, he now earns between Shs2m to Shs3.5m per annum from all his farm proceeds. He is however faced with the challenge of labour which he says is expensive. The weather patterns keep changing too. Sometimes the dry spell is prolonged making the crops dry before harvest period and there is also a problem of the crops being infested with pests and diseases as well as the high cost of applying fertiliser.

The young farmer is currently pursuing a degree at Gulu University and whose fees is paid out of his farm proceeds advises youth who have idle land to put it to use. He plans to expand his enterprise. “The soil nutrient here is still fertile and it produces high quality farm products. I have seen other farmers getting a lot of revenue from this activity and my next plan is to become a commercialised farmer applying techniques of modern farming so that I can become a sole supplier of farm products in the entire region of northern Uganda,” Egwel says.