Omoro’s Cocoa Farmer Turns Farm Waste into Organic Manure
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Obali’s Cocoa farm in Omoro district is steadily thriving under organic farming. Photos by Stephen Okello
By Stephen Okello
Omoro: There’s a saying: desperate situations call for desperate solutions. For the innovative mind, desperation often becomes the seed of invention.
This was the case for Wilfred Jwee Obali, an accountant-turned-cocoa farmer in Omoro District, who found new purpose during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. With his formal job disrupted, Obali ventured into Climate Smart Agriculture learning step by step, sometimes through trial and error.
One of his earliest setbacks came when he planted his first cocoa trees outside the rainy season. Without proper irrigation, the trees dried up. Later, he discovered a simple drip irrigation method using discarded plastic water bottles.
Like any farmer who would have opted for conventional fertilizer, he instead ventured into how to convert farm waste into organic manure a technique that has since transformed his farming practices and significantly boosted his yields.
Today, Obali is in control of his future. He interplants beans and maize to maximize seasonal output while waiting for his cocoa pods to mature.
His farm covers 10 acres, with four currently under cultivation in Labwo-Omor Village, Bobi Paidwe Parish, Bobi Sub-county, Omoro District roughly 20 kilometers south of Gulu City.
Obali on being introduced to Cocoa growing
To understand Obali’s journey, photo Journalist Stephen Okello travelled to his farm and now reports.
A hip of farm wastes from bean husks, soybeans and other plant materials collected to decay into green manure for plant nutrients.Obali later learned of the advantages of using organic manure in crops production during a Climate Smart Agriculture training he attended with other farmers. He also introduced the techniques of mulching and as means of improving farm fertility and soil water conservation in Cocoa Plantation. To prevent toxicity and wastage, Mr. Obali rations two spadefuls of Organic Manure inside each pit, before he transplants the Cocoa Seedling. He reports that the seedlings pick faster than those transplanted without the magic compost manureTo protect the plants during droughts or prolonged dry spell falling between December and March, Obali and other farmers deploy homemade drip irrigation technologies which they fill with water. The technology is made out of used Mineral water or soda bottles measuring 1.5 Milliliters, with bases submerged into the soil to regulate the outflow of water
Happy farms give bounty to farmers. Obali projects to increase his production and annual income within the first ten years of practicing Climate Smart Agriculture.
To ensure proper farm management, Mr. Obali Wilfred tours his 4-acre farm two times every week in order to timely avert invasion of pests and diseasesPruning the Cocoa tree means more nutrients is available to the growing plants when competition is eliminated. The practice also improves air circulation and water percolation to the plant rootsObali is firmly on the pathway to sustainable wealth. He expects to double his harvest and market more between 7 – 10 kilograms of Cocoa pods from each tree, up from the 3-5 kilograms of Cocoa pods he sold last year
The production of this story was supported by InfoNile in partnership with Palladium under Climate Smart Jobs
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