Banker traded his job for the farm

________________

For the tenth year running, Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, is running the Best Farmers Competition.

This year’s competition is running up to November, with the awards in December. Every week, Vision Group platforms will publish profiles of the farmers. Winners will walk away with sh150m and a fully paid-for trip to the Netherlands.

At the age of 42, Hood Kiwana Kasirye has established himself as a leading figure in agribusiness.

A bold signpost at Tamu trading centre directs visitors to his enterprise — Kasirye Breeders Uganda Limited — an integrated farm in Nakaziba village, Mityana district. Spread across 25 acres, the farm has over 150 high-yielding dairy cattle, 20,000 layers, 100 goats and 60 sheep.

The farm also has pastures that are not just for feeding livestock, but also serve as a demonstration site for other farmers.

Equipped with walking tractors, a maize mill, hay stores and dairy breeds for sale, Kasirye’s farm reflects innovation. Fifteen years ago, Kasirye was a banker, steadily rising through the ranks, his days filled with approving loans. Yet, as he handled files, he noticed a trend where loans for farmers carried lower interest rates than other ventures.

The realisation planted a dream. In 2014, Kasirye took a bold leap; he resigned his job and invested the savings he had with his wife, Latifah Tusingwire, worth over sh100m in farming. Together, they began purchasing land in phases.

Then, the couple purchased 20 in-calf friesians. Within months, 15 produced heifers and started producing milk, while the remaining five delivered bulls.

These and nine cross-breed dairy cows were used to start the farm’s breeding enterprise — Kasirye Breeders Uganda Limited. Today, the herd consists of white holstein from the US, fleckvieh from Germany, jersey from Switzerland, guernsey from the UK, and girolando from Brazil.

Each breed is selected for productivity, adaptability and breeding potential. Rashid Matovu, a resident who has visited the farm, says the dairy unit is the beating heart of the farm.

Venturing into value addition

Daily production is 600-650lts of milk. Initially, they sold raw milk at the farm at sh800 per litre. Tusingwire says the returns were not commensurate with the investment.

“The answer lay in value addition,” she says.

Kasirye has turned his farming dreams into a thriving agribusiness empire.

The couple opened a restaurant in Mityana town, serving milk, yoghurt and ice cream. They also supply one of their products branded ‘Best Yoghurt’ in shops, restaurants and the family’s outlets. Each litre of milk is sold ranging from sh1,500 to sh2,000, depending on the season.

The milk is marketed through the farm’s dairy centres, restaurants and direct orders in Mityana town. Collectively, the farm earns between sh1m and sh1.3m daily from milk. The dairy venture’s turning point came during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“While other people were closing shop, we expanded. Milk demand rose, and so did sales of yoghurt and milk tea. We even had to buy milk from other farmers,” Kasirye says.

However, outsourcing the milk came with challenges. Kasirye says some farmers delivered contaminated or medicated milk, threatening product quality. Aside from milk, the farm also sells heifers and in-calf cows, depending on the age and size.

A mature heifer fetches between sh7m and sh12m, depending on pedigree. Each year, 60 heifers are sold, totalling sh90- 100m. In addition, 10 bulls are sold, generating sh30-75m.

Best practices

To ensure efficiency and accountability, all cows are tagged for easy identification and management, making health monitoring and record-keeping seamless. All floors are concrete, ensuring durability, hygiene and ease of cleaning.

The calf units are covered shelters that have cattle mattresses, play-zones filled with sand, and resting areas, reflecting the farm’s commitment to animal welfare.

The farm runs a highly-intensive system, where cows are fed indoors on a balanced diet that includes dairy meal, silage, hay, Napier grass and nutrient blocks.

Kasirye maintains a 5,000-tonne silage bunker, enough to feed the herd for six months, while also sourcing Napier grass from neighbours with more land. There are four feed-crushing machines across the farm. Water, a critical resource, is never in short supply.

The farm relies on a solar-powered pump system, rainwater harvesting structures, and a standby generator to ensure uninterrupted flow. The water is distributed to the livestock via automatic drinkers. The herd is divided into three groups, that is, the milking herd of 35 that includes bulls and heifers reared for sale.

Chicken project, making of feeds

In 2023, Kasirye added poultry to his portfolio. He invested sh10m in the venture that started with 2,000 birds. Today, the enterprise stands as one of the busiest units on Kasirye’s farm, supervised by his wife, Tusingwire. With more than eight workers, the section has over 20,000 birds.

Tusingwire says on average, they collect 500 trays of eggs daily, each sold at sh10,000 at farm gate price. This brings in about sh5m before expenses are deducted.

“Most of our buyers are traders from Mityana town,” Tusingwire says. She says biosecurity is the foundation of the poultry section. Strict measures are followed to ensure the health of the birds and the safety of the eggs. The farm has a feed processing unit. “We learned that depending on commercial feeds left us exposed to price changes and poor quality, so I decided to take control of the entire process,” Tusingwire says.

Goats and sheep

Started in 2018 with an investment of sh5m, the farm has over 100 goats, mainly the savannah breed, which are managed under a free-range system but also provided with well-constructed shelters for protection. Every six months, the farm sells off pregnant goats at about sh750,000 each, making it a profi table enterprise with consistent demand.

Pasture

Kasirye dedicates 20 acres of land to pasture, with Napier grass as the primary fodder crop.

He says Napier is a perennial grass, meaning once planted, it keeps producing for years with proper management.

On his farm, he grows super Napier, a fast-growing variety, which allows him to harvest the grass up to four times a year. Each acre under good management can yield 50-100 tonnes of grass annually, so Kasirye’s 20 acres produce 1,500-2,000 tonnes of fodder every year.

He plants in lines, leaving enough spacing for easy management, and applies manure to improve soil fertility.

Kasirye also conserves surplus fodder as silage to ensure a steady feed supply during dry spells.

Workforce and expenses

Kasirye’s farm employs 30 permanent staff and over 10 casual labourers, depending on daily tasks such as garden preparation, weeding and harvesting. He estimates monthly expenses at around sh15m, covering essential farm needs.

Community impact

Kasirye invested sh100m to get the village (Nakaziba) on the national power grid. His wife says this development will greatly benefit the community by improving livelihoods, supporting businesses and enhancing service delivery. The neighbouring farmers regularly consult him and community members draw water from his borehole free of charge.

“My farm has empowered the community leaders by providing them with improved cattle breeding, either at subsidised prices or at a cost,” Kasirye says.

Challenges

Despite the farm’s success, Kasirye faces challenges that test his resilience. High input costs, fluctuating milk prices and feed shortages during dry seasons strain operations. Price volatility often disrupts income flow and affects project sustainability.

Machinery and infrastructure demand high maintenance, while unreliable and costly electricity forces reliance on generators and solar.

Plans

Kasirye says his vision for the next decade is both ambitious and practical.

He plans to establish a fully operational yoghurt factory and a modern milk-packing line. He also intends to pioneer powder egg production in Uganda, expand goat farming for both meat and breeding.

Best farm management practices

Hood Kasirye emphasises the importance of proper bookkeeping across all farm enterprises.

“Each unit, such as dairy and poultry, has its own records,” he says.

His farm system also covers human resource management, ensuring workers’ salaries and allowances are well-documented.

“Accurate records help us track income and expenses, making it clear whether we are running at a profit or loss. It keeps the farm disciplined and accountable,” Kasirye says.

With cameras covering every corner, he says security on his expansive farm is strengthened through sturdy fencing, armed guards, dedicated workers, and vigilant supervision, ensuring the safety of his livestock and investments.