Vision scribe wins agric reporting award

By Taddeo Bwambale

After years of helping farmers to reap big through Harvest Money, a weekly farming pull-out published weekly by the New Vision, Joshua Kato has won the Africa Green Revolution Award for his contribution to a Green Revolution on the continent.

Kato emerged the print media award winner in the inaugural AGRF Gala Awards, an initiative to recognize the media for creating awareness of a sustainable African agri-business industry, and making Africa food and food-secure.
Kato's award-winning entry was published in Harvest Money in August.

The pull out which is published in the New Vision newspaper every Tuesday, offers an interactive forum where farmers express their views and challenges that face them in their work, with advice from experts on how to overcome them.

Through the pullout, farmers share their experiences through farm profiles and sending in their views and queries to the editor via e-mail.

Vision Group's editor-in-chief, Barbara Kaija hailed the award saying: "Such moments are worth celebrating. They show that New Vision ranks high among the best in the world."

The AGRF competition aims to encourage young and early career journalists and media specialists to investigate what investments are needed for rapid and sustainable agricultural growth to raise 50 million people out of poverty over the next ten years; to showcase success stories and best practices that can be replicated; and to raise awareness on the important role of women, youth, partnerships and new technologies for improving food security in Africa.

Kato who will receive his award during the African Green Revolution Forum 2012 scheduled to take place between 26th and 28th September in Arusha, Tanzania.

 "This is an honor which I attribute largely to the New Vision which gave me the opportunity to exhibit my talents. I am surely humbled by what I have arrived at and will hold dearly because it gives me more impetus to do better for agriculture reporting, a largely neglected genre."

The conference will bring together African heads of state, ministers, farmers, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, NGOs, civil society and scientists, to discuss the right way to scale up investments and innovation for sustainable agricultural growth and food security.

Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan will chair the forum, which will be hosted by Tanzanian president, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. Key speakers include Kanayo Nwanze, president International Fund for Agricultural Development; Donald Kaberuka, president African Development Bank and Jørgen Ole Haslestad, CEO of YARA International.

Alongside the media awards, private and public sector organizations, farmer organizations, advocacy and policy institutions, youth and women's organizations will be recognized for their role in enhancing agriculture growth and food security.

A lifetime achievement award will also be awarded to an individual for inspiring a Green Revolution in Arica.
Kato's award comes hardly a month after Vision Group was recognized for its contribution towards growth in agriculture and poverty reduction in Uganda by the East and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF) and the Food Rights Alliance (FRA).

Below is Joshua Kato’s winning story published in the New Vision on August 14th this year.

Simple agric, innovation makes a very happy, satisfied family           

Leonard Mayanja and Immaculate Mayanja have got faces that betray their success-they smile most of the time. The homestead is typically rural, but nobody passes by without a second glance. Mayanja is in his mid-40s, Immaculate in mid 30s but they are a happy family, thanks to a collection of interventions that may look simple but very effective.
 
The innovations have made the couple heroes in their village, Kyabogo near the Central western town of Masaka in the heart of Uganda. “Before we changed the way we operated about three years ago, nobody wanted to visit us but now, we are opinion leaders in the village,” Mayanja says.  
 
Masaka region, 120kms from Kampala is a legendary Ugandan food basket. Residents grow both food and cash-crops-with coffee as a leader. Lush banana shambas and well-kept pineapple shambas are a common sight even along the main roads as one drives around Masaka.

Water into wealth.
The appearance of dark clouds to the right of this village signal an impending rainfall. And when it falls, no drop of water is allowed to get wasted. “We were told many years ago that water is life, but before we decided to ‘harvest’ it was just water that gives life, but in this home it gives happiness,” Mayanja says.

There are two water tanks next to a well-kept banana shamba and vegetable garden. And when the rain is not falling from the sky, the water in the tanks makes the crops and animals in the homestead happy.  According to Mayanja, each of them has a capacity of at least as 30,000 liters of water.

There is another water tank, which is enclosed in a small room near the main house. This traps water only from the roof of the house which is specifically for home use.  

The cost of digging the water tanks is not more than sh350,000 (US$150). “The blue sheet that covers the floor and sides of the tank costs between sh70,000 (US$30) and sh120,000 (US$50) depending on the size,” Mayanja, who is now an expert says. The actual digging of the 18x8 feet tank costs sh100,000 (US$70). Certainly, like the case is with the wonder pump, this money can be got by an average vegetable farmer.  

Water just a pedal away.
You do not need rain to deliver water to every corner of the family`s farm. Neither do you need to carry it in jerry-cans. All the family needed was a simple water pump-they call it the ‘Money Maker Wonder Pump’. The pump costs just sh300,000 (US$120), an amount that can be got by average farmers in the country.

The pump was given to the family under a project, Crop-Livestock Integration for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Building Livestock Resilience in East and Central Africa, which is supported by ASARECA and coordinated by Dr. Jolly Kabirizi, a Forage expert with National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO).  

The Money Maker Wonder pump is perhaps one of the most practical irrigation inventions of recent years. Since it is manually operated, it means that anybody can have it anywhere. “As long as there is a source of water, the pump can be used,” explains Davis and Shirtliff Lincoln Kariuki, who distributes these pumps in the East-African region.

According to Dr. Jolly Kabirizi the Lead Investigator for the project, the entire system including the water harvesting ponds and the pump was selected because it is compatible with most small holder farmer’s needs.

The Mayanjas’ faces light up whenever somebody mentions the pump.  “It is so easy to operate, even our four year old son can use it to pump water,” Mayanja says as the four year old pumps away.  The word ‘wonder’ means ‘ekyamagero’ in the couple`s language and that is what they call this pump.

Thanks to ‘ekyamagero’, the family produces vegetables all year round. There are at least 15 cabbages growing in a 10 by 10 feet piece of land, dodo (Amaranth), egg plants,  nakati and buuga (red vegetable) are also growing along the boundaries of the small compound.

“I call these kitchen gardens,” Immaculate says. Before asking, “Do you see the skin of my son?” after a pause, she continued, “These vegetables are the reason,” True, vegetables have been proved to help improve nutrition amongst people. They are rich in vitamins, proteins etc.

Cows no longer thirsty.
The pump has also eased the watering of the various animals at the home. The family has got two dairy cows, kept under Zero grazing, at least 10 goats-both local and improved, rabbits and chicken.

Using the 500 meter water hose, Mayanja or any of the family member’s pumps water from the tank through over 80metres to the cattle shade. “We used to carry the water using jerry-cans and it was very difficult and tiring,” Immaculate says.  The readily available water for the animals has helped increase milk produced by the cows. “We can now get at least 20litres a day,” Mayanja says. 

For the four year old who uses a little energy to pedal away at the pump, a combination of a cup of milk and the vegetables replenishes the energy he has expended. He jiggles and laughs as her mother, Immaculate gives more feeds to the cows. 

Nothing to waste.
The cows and the other animals in the homestead pass out a lot of waste. But to Mayanja and Immaculate, this ‘waste’ is actually ‘gold’. The family uses it to process and generate bio-gas, which they use to light the house and cook food. “We got this system with support from Heifer International under the Uganda Domestic Bio-gas Programme,” Mayanja says.
“Bio-gas is produced from decomposing material for example animal dung, plant residue and sewage,” Mayanja says.

The waste is directed into a small cemented tank (digester) from the cattle shade through a cemented tunnel. As the mixture ferments, gas is produced. The gas is then tapped with the use of pipes and is connected to a special stove and lamp to be used for cooking and lighting.

“You see,” he says as he switches on a light. This comes from the waste. In an adjoining room, a pan filled with beans is boiling away-on a stove energized by bio-gas.  

Mayanja did not compute the total cost it took him to have the system because many of the elements were given to him by Heifer International, however for other people who may wish to do it on their own.

Mayanja says that while Heifer International gave him the lights, the stove and some of the pipes, he contributed by constructing the digester pit and buying additional pipes. “The cost of the entire system may be between sh800,000 (US$320) and sh1,000,000 (US$400) he says,” He adds however, but the system stays for many years to come!
Rabbits for meat!

In a small room near the kitchen, Mayanja keeps tens of rabbits. “Whenever I do not have sauce, I slaughter one of these,” he boasts.  Rabbits are a wonderful source of animal proteins.  But because the rabbits deliver and multiply quickly, Mayanja has seen the numbers rise higher and when they do, he sells some of the meat to neighbors-earning him well!