Dr Ocen (middle) leading govt chief whip Denis Hamson Obua (right), Jane Barekye (left) from State House at the tour of the four acre model established at the Lango hub before a recent graduation. Photos by Simon Eluk
By Simon Eluk
Lira: The State House has approved the establishment of a four-acre model to train farmers in the Lango sub-region how to use a small piece of land to earn millions of shillings.
“It intends to help farmers improve household income. If you have a small piece of land, how can you generate money out of it?” said Jane Barekye, the State House comptroller.
The four-acre model farm is at the Lango Presidential Industrial Hub at Ayere Cell, Lira City West Division, Lira City, one of the 19 Presidential industrial hubs established across the country.
“This four-acre model that we have established here is to teach you to farm and earn from a small piece of land,” Barekye said.
Dr. Chris Ocen, a commissioner at State House in charge of the component told GNNA on May 7, 2024, that they are going to setting up the four-acre model in all the remaining 18 hubs in the country.
Ocen said the President`s idea of establishing the component was to support low-income earners, especially the peasants, to utilize their land in a more commercially viable way.
“His [president’s] argument has been that even if you have a small piece of land you can still utilize it well and then you will be able to earn money,” Ocen said.
Diary unit, fish ponds established
The hub now has a dairy unit, constructed a fish pond, and dedicated an acre for coffee and matooke. The dairy unit will be stocked with Friesian cows, while the fish pond will be stocked with 10,000 fingerlings.
“Averagely in Uganda, especially in the north, the majority of people have at least four acres. The question was how do you utilize it because people grow simsim and later earn only 50,000 after four months,” Ocen said.
Ocen argued that the traditional farming method cannot get one out of poverty, a reason the President came up with the idea of the four-acre model for commercially viable enterprises such as the diary unit, which generates money daily.
“So the President has been insisting that we go for that enterprise which rescued us from poverty and the dairy unit was one of them,” he said.
Ocen estimates that given the current price of milk at shs 2,000, the five Friesian at the diary unit will each produce 20 liters of milk daily, and 100 liters collectively each day.
“This means we shall have shs 200, 000 per day and when you calculate for a month, it is shs 6m per month. When you do the calculation for a year which is 12m, you are only dealing with one acre of land,” he said.
Tricks to earn millions on a small land
Ocen added that the new clone of coffee grows faster and is harvested after one and half years, with each stem yielding 4 kilograms of coffee beans, implying that a farmer can earn from shs10m to shs18m annually, depending on the maintenance of the coffee trees.
“This is the second acre and you have the advantage of access to the wetland. You introduce fish farming because that one doesn’t prevent water from flowing. It allows you to tap water into the pond and get back to its original line,” he said.
He estimated that the 20 x50 meters fish pond they have set up will contain 10,000 fingerlings, which will weigh from half a kilogram or 800 grams in eight months and be sold at shs 10, 000 each.
“If you have 10,000 fish, in eight months they will produce and be in millions and each sold at sh10, 000. On average a fish pond can give you more than Shs100m,” he added.
“Remember that is the third acre brings you close to shs200m gross income. Then on the fourth acre, you can put matooke or banana. It’s also a marketable enterprise because it is eaten throughout the country and you can export,” he added.
Farmers to study model farming
Ocen explained that a farmer can earn a minimum of shs 3 million from an acre of bananas, depending on the location.
George Abdul, the chairperson of the zonal management committee, also the RDC of Apac, welcomed the development, saying it will help farmers in the sub-region learn the new technologies that are now being adopted to support their agricultural production, and also give the trainees some skills.
“It will help our learners to learn strategies and get something through agriculture on a small piece of land and also empower our leaders and farmers in the sub-region because it will be open for studies and tours,” Abdul said.
The 19 presidential hubs were established in 2022, to equip more than 12,000 youths annually, under the Presidential initiative on skilling the youths to become job creators, not seekers.
Among the hubs are Lira, Gulu, Zombo, Kween, Mbarara, Mbale, Kasese, Napak, Kyanjojo, Mubende, Masindi, Kayunga, Kibuku, Jinja, Kabale, Kampala, Ntoroko and Adjumani among others.
There are seven vocational courses taught at the hubs; building and construction, carpentry and joinery, hairdressing and makeup, bakery and confectionery, tailoring and design, welding and metal fabrication, leather processing (shoe making).
