A search for bacon that ended in apiggery
Aug 30, 2010
<b>She left her career in the UK and came to Uganda to run her farm </b>
By Joshua Kato
My Way:
Brenda Simpson
She left her career in the UK and came to Uganda to run her farm
THE couple wanted bacon. But the city restaurant they had gone to had none. Mulling over their disappointment, Brenda and Malcom Simpson realised bacon shortage was actually a business opportunity they could not pass up. “ I carried out some research and discovered that most of the bacon being sold in supermarkets, was imported from South-Africa I wondered to myself, can’t I produce my own bacon? †Brenda recalls how a disappointment turned into a business opportunity.
That was in 2005. The couple was in Uganda on a short visit from the UK where they lived and worked then. They soon came up with a business plan for a piggery. Today the couple are the proud owners of Buloba Farming Estate, a 15 acre farm, where pig rearing is the main enterprise, which puts bacon on the table-literally. As director of operations, Brenda oversees the day to day activities at the farm.
It has been a steep learning for the Simpson couple. “By the time we started the farm, we were still working in the UK. So for the first five years, we managed it on phone, which was not easy,†Brenda explains.
Recently husband and wife felt they had done enough telephone farming and decided to return home to become full time hands on farmers.
The farm sits on 15 acres
Developing the farm to its current state has been a daunting task, requiring a lot of work . “When we bought the land, it was just a forest. †Brenda explains.
First the couple constructed a house where they would live, plus a labour line for their workers and a pig sty with a capacity for 300 animals .
The Simpsons have spared no expense to ensure that their animals are comfortable. There is piped water in the pig sty, with a tap in each stall, to ensure easy access to water for drinking, cooling and cleaning purposes. The same water system has been installed in the poultry houses.
There are two poultry houses at the farm, housing about 400 local breed chicken. The Simpsons’ decided to rear local chicken after veterinary experts advised them that they were more suitable for the local conditions than crossbreeds or pure exotics.
The poultry houses was built using mainly local materials. The walls are made up of mud and wattle. Raised under semi free range system, chicken are freed during the day to move around in a chicken mesh enclosure set up behind the poultry house.
“The chicken are allowed to move out of the house and free range in the enclosure,†Simpson explains how the system works. There are also some local and crossbreed goats on the farm . “Most of the goats are of a local breed, but we have bought some Boer goats, originally from South Africa, to cross with them,†Simpson explains.
The farm is regularly visited by veterinary doctors to ensure the animals are in good health. “We also try to maintain a high level of bio-security since we are aware that an entire herd can be wiped out by a disease brought in by a single element,†Simpson says. Visitors and their vehicles have to be disinfected before being allowed on the farm.
Bananas, cassava and sweet potatoes are also grown, but the crops are mainly for domestic consumption.
Mechanised agriculture
Besides the elaborate water system, the Simpsons’ have invested in a poultry feed mixer and an incubator where eggs laid by their birds are hatched.
“Because water is very important for the animals, we have set up an elaborate water distribution system,†Simpson justifies their decision.
The water system includes a water pump which draws water from a pond located on the farm. The water is then stored in several huge tanks.
However not all efforts to mechanise the farm have paid off. Recently the couple spent sh12m on a tractor that turned out to be a disappointment. The ploughs broke two days after delivery!
To keep the resident animals in and foreign animals out, the whole farm has been fenced off using low voltage power lines. So far the systems seem to be working fine.
Adding value to farm products
Another structure the Simpsons are setting up is a slaughter house. “We once took a pig to an abattoir and we did not like the brutality involved in slaughtering it,†recalls Simpson, confessing that she had to move away from the sickening sight.
“After spending a lot of money on rearing a healthy pig, it is was disheartening to see all the quality destroyed by inhumane slaughtering.†That is when Brenda discovered that there was no professionally run abattoir in town.
“So, we decided to set up our own slaughterhouse and start processing our animals,†she says. Indeed, the slaughter house is in the final stages of construction. Brenda believes the facility will enable them to slaughter their pigs according to international animal rights guidelines and then sell to pork dealers. This is sure to get them a niche among people who care about animal rights
She also plans to start processing bacon and sausages — which is the original reason the farm was set up. “With this, we shall have a complete food chain,†she says.
Having a slaughter house on the farm premises will also enable them to retain the bi-products from pigs. These include the trotters, offals and the head, which the farmer never gets when the pig is slaughtered elsewhere. “The offals can be used as ingredients in fish feeds.†Simpson reveals.
Breaking even
The Simpsons cannot say the farm is making profits yet, as they are still at the investing stage. “I stopped keeping track of the money we have invested in the farm, as it was becoming a bit frightening,†Brenda admits.
According to a rough estimate however, over sh300m may have been sunk in the farming enterprise so far. Putting up the piggery alone cost over sh25m. It may take several years before they start earning a profit. Once the profits start coming in however, the Simpsons plan to diversify into bee keeping. Already the forest where the apiary will be set up has already been planted.
Challenges
Getting the required cooling systems is turning out to be a major challenge. “We have been looking for a refrigeration system in Kampala, which can keep sausages fresh, but not iced but we have so far failed to find the right one,†Brenda reveals .
There is no hydro electric power at the farm so they have to rely on a generator. It is expensive to run a generator 24 hours a day.
Getting skilled workers to operate the various farm machines is almost impossible.
“Those who are highly qualified ask for a lot of money, and spend most of the time in their offices,†she laments, adding that even keeping casual labour is hard.
“Transporting products to the market is also expensive because of the high cost of fuel.†The couple is contemplating buying their own refrigerated truck for carrying their products to the market.
Pigs a fast-paying venture
While there are few agriculture enterprises as lucrative as pig rearing, and despite the high demand for pork products in the country, very few Ugandans have taken up pig farming.
According to the latest national animal census, there are only 3.18 million pigs in the country, compared to 11 million cattle and 12.5 million goats. However the numbers have been increasing over the last few years. In 2002 the national pig population stood at 1.6m.
“Farmers are reluctant to take up pig rearing, claiming that they are filthy, expensive to feed and are labor intensive,†explains Roger Nkuyingi Kyeyune, a veteran pig farmers.
While he concedes that pig farming is not easy, Kyeyune argues that the returns are worth the effort. “My pig recently delivered 11 piglets and in two months, I will sell them off and earn at least sh440,000,†said William Kibodhe, a farmer in Kayunga.
If a farmer who is into pig breeding, can sell a two-month-old piglet at between sh30,000 and sh50,000 depending on the breed.
A mature ready for slaughter pig weighing between 40-60kg goes for between sh160,000 and sh260,000. A kilo of pork costs between sh5,000 and sh7,000 in urban areas and between sh3,000 and sh4,000 in rural areas.
Pigs can be fed on the leaves of a variety of crops including sweet potatoes vines, cassava, yams and banana peelings. They can also feed on a variety of cooked food stuffs, including leftovers in public eating places. However, these need to be boiled to avoid disease.
My Way:
Brenda Simpson
She left her career in the UK and came to Uganda to run her farm
THE couple wanted bacon. But the city restaurant they had gone to had none. Mulling over their disappointment, Brenda and Malcom Simpson realised bacon shortage was actually a business opportunity they could not pass up. “ I carried out some research and discovered that most of the bacon being sold in supermarkets, was imported from South-Africa I wondered to myself, can’t I produce my own bacon? †Brenda recalls how a disappointment turned into a business opportunity.
That was in 2005. The couple was in Uganda on a short visit from the UK where they lived and worked then. They soon came up with a business plan for a piggery. Today the couple are the proud owners of Buloba Farming Estate, a 15 acre farm, where pig rearing is the main enterprise, which puts bacon on the table-literally. As director of operations, Brenda oversees the day to day activities at the farm.
It has been a steep learning for the Simpson couple. “By the time we started the farm, we were still working in the UK. So for the first five years, we managed it on phone, which was not easy,†Brenda explains.
Recently husband and wife felt they had done enough telephone farming and decided to return home to become full time hands on farmers.
The farm sits on 15 acres
Developing the farm to its current state has been a daunting task, requiring a lot of work . “When we bought the land, it was just a forest. †Brenda explains.
First the couple constructed a house where they would live, plus a labour line for their workers and a pig sty with a capacity for 300 animals .
The Simpsons have spared no expense to ensure that their animals are comfortable. There is piped water in the pig sty, with a tap in each stall, to ensure easy access to water for drinking, cooling and cleaning purposes. The same water system has been installed in the poultry houses.
There are two poultry houses at the farm, housing about 400 local breed chicken. The Simpsons’ decided to rear local chicken after veterinary experts advised them that they were more suitable for the local conditions than crossbreeds or pure exotics.
The poultry houses was built using mainly local materials. The walls are made up of mud and wattle. Raised under semi free range system, chicken are freed during the day to move around in a chicken mesh enclosure set up behind the poultry house.
“The chicken are allowed to move out of the house and free range in the enclosure,†Simpson explains how the system works. There are also some local and crossbreed goats on the farm . “Most of the goats are of a local breed, but we have bought some Boer goats, originally from South Africa, to cross with them,†Simpson explains.
The farm is regularly visited by veterinary doctors to ensure the animals are in good health. “We also try to maintain a high level of bio-security since we are aware that an entire herd can be wiped out by a disease brought in by a single element,†Simpson says. Visitors and their vehicles have to be disinfected before being allowed on the farm.
Bananas, cassava and sweet potatoes are also grown, but the crops are mainly for domestic consumption.
Mechanised agriculture
Besides the elaborate water system, the Simpsons’ have invested in a poultry feed mixer and an incubator where eggs laid by their birds are hatched.
“Because water is very important for the animals, we have set up an elaborate water distribution system,†Simpson justifies their decision.
The water system includes a water pump which draws water from a pond located on the farm. The water is then stored in several huge tanks.
However not all efforts to mechanise the farm have paid off. Recently the couple spent sh12m on a tractor that turned out to be a disappointment. The ploughs broke two days after delivery!
To keep the resident animals in and foreign animals out, the whole farm has been fenced off using low voltage power lines. So far the systems seem to be working fine.
Adding value to farm products
Another structure the Simpsons are setting up is a slaughter house. “We once took a pig to an abattoir and we did not like the brutality involved in slaughtering it,†recalls Simpson, confessing that she had to move away from the sickening sight.
“After spending a lot of money on rearing a healthy pig, it is was disheartening to see all the quality destroyed by inhumane slaughtering.†That is when Brenda discovered that there was no professionally run abattoir in town.
“So, we decided to set up our own slaughterhouse and start processing our animals,†she says. Indeed, the slaughter house is in the final stages of construction. Brenda believes the facility will enable them to slaughter their pigs according to international animal rights guidelines and then sell to pork dealers. This is sure to get them a niche among people who care about animal rights
She also plans to start processing bacon and sausages — which is the original reason the farm was set up. “With this, we shall have a complete food chain,†she says.
Having a slaughter house on the farm premises will also enable them to retain the bi-products from pigs. These include the trotters, offals and the head, which the farmer never gets when the pig is slaughtered elsewhere. “The offals can be used as ingredients in fish feeds.†Simpson reveals.
Breaking even
The Simpsons cannot say the farm is making profits yet, as they are still at the investing stage. “I stopped keeping track of the money we have invested in the farm, as it was becoming a bit frightening,†Brenda admits.
According to a rough estimate however, over sh300m may have been sunk in the farming enterprise so far. Putting up the piggery alone cost over sh25m. It may take several years before they start earning a profit. Once the profits start coming in however, the Simpsons plan to diversify into bee keeping. Already the forest where the apiary will be set up has already been planted.
Challenges
Getting the required cooling systems is turning out to be a major challenge. “We have been looking for a refrigeration system in Kampala, which can keep sausages fresh, but not iced but we have so far failed to find the right one,†Brenda reveals .
There is no hydro electric power at the farm so they have to rely on a generator. It is expensive to run a generator 24 hours a day.
Getting skilled workers to operate the various farm machines is almost impossible.
“Those who are highly qualified ask for a lot of money, and spend most of the time in their offices,†she laments, adding that even keeping casual labour is hard.
“Transporting products to the market is also expensive because of the high cost of fuel.†The couple is contemplating buying their own refrigerated truck for carrying their products to the market.
Pigs a fast-paying venture
While there are few agriculture enterprises as lucrative as pig rearing, and despite the high demand for pork products in the country, very few Ugandans have taken up pig farming.
According to the latest national animal census, there are only 3.18 million pigs in the country, compared to 11 million cattle and 12.5 million goats. However the numbers have been increasing over the last few years. In 2002 the national pig population stood at 1.6m.
“Farmers are reluctant to take up pig rearing, claiming that they are filthy, expensive to feed and are labor intensive,†explains Roger Nkuyingi Kyeyune, a veteran pig farmers.
While he concedes that pig farming is not easy, Kyeyune argues that the returns are worth the effort. “My pig recently delivered 11 piglets and in two months, I will sell them off and earn at least sh440,000,†said William Kibodhe, a farmer in Kayunga.
If a farmer who is into pig breeding, can sell a two-month-old piglet at between sh30,000 and sh50,000 depending on the breed.
A mature ready for slaughter pig weighing between 40-60kg goes for between sh160,000 and sh260,000. A kilo of pork costs between sh5,000 and sh7,000 in urban areas and between sh3,000 and sh4,000 in rural areas.
Pigs can be fed on the leaves of a variety of crops including sweet potatoes vines, cassava, yams and banana peelings. They can also feed on a variety of cooked food stuffs, including leftovers in public eating places. However, these need to be boiled to avoid disease.