Busingye, wife find greener pastures in Kiruhura

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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.

The 2025 competition will run from April 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 Itungo Pastures in Kashongi village, Kiruhura district, hay is no longer just grass; it is pellets, profits and a model for modern livestock feeding.

Farmers from across Uganda flock to the farm not just to buy seed or feed, but also to learn how modern pasture management can turn dairy dreams into profitable agribusiness.

Pellet innovation

One of the farm’s greatest innovations is the production of livestock pellets. Co-founder and director Pison Busingye explains that rising demand for quality pastures pushed them to experiment with hay, ghee residue, bran and other ingredients.

“From ghee production, we get residues rich in proteins and fats that provide a nutritious supplement for cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits and poultry,” he says.

Pellets are made from chopped hay, maize bran, cotton cake, soy cake and minerals with ghee residue, which is sprinkled over the mixture to moisten it.

The mixture is then put into a running pellet-making machine and the pellets are ready for consumption immediately.

“Pellets are palatable, especially for young animals, and every piece contains balanced nutrients. Transporting pellets is easier than hay,” Busingye notes.

A kilo of hay costs sh500, while pellets go for sh1,500. Jolly Asiimwe, Busingye’s wife and co-founder, explains how ghee production boosts farm income.

“A litre of milk is sold at sh800, while a kilogramme of ghee goes for sh25,000 – sh30,000. One kilogramme requires 10–15 litres of milk, earning far more than selling raw milk,” she says.

Lessons learnt the hard way

Busingye recalls his early struggles. In 2016, he bought eight heifers from Mbarara and moved them to Namayumba in Wakiso district, where it was bushy and says he dumped them there. Six of the animals died of tick fever.

“In that same year, New Vision organised a training on livestock at Dr Jolly Kabirizi’s Kyakuwa Dairy farm at Seguku [in Wakiso district], which I attended. Here I realised that for anyone to succeed in dairy farming, they need quality pasture,” Busingye says.

“Feed accounts for 70% of livestock costs. I learnt that pasture is not just grass as nutritional value determines productivity,” he says.

From Kabirizi’s lessons, Busingye also learnt about the importance of animal housing and disease management. He began growing Russian comfrey, built proper housing and bought four heifers that performed well.

In addition, strict hygiene is enforced in animal houses. The workers disinfect their feet in a footbath before entry to reduce disease risks.

Birth of Itungo pastures

A former sales executive, Busingye turned to farming when his corporate job failed to meet family needs. He bought land in Namayumba, Wakiso district, in 2013 and invested in heifers in 2016.

“In 2018, during the Pakasa business training organised by Vision Group, the guest speaker, who was Aga Sekalaala Senior, advised us that ‘As an investor, you should sleep where your money is’. At that time, we were living in Munyonyo, Kampala and we had to shift to Kyoga in Wakiso district,” he says.

In 2019, Busingye registered Itungo Pastures. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm broke even as demand for farming surged. Profits enabled expansion to 60 acres in Kashongi, Kiruhura district, where the second farm was established.

Diversifying into heifers

Itungo also sells in-calf heifers. A veterinary doctor checks health and pregnancy before sale.

“Most farmers in western Uganda practice free range grazing, so wet rain heifers for zero grazing before handing them over,” Busingye explains.

The farm supplies individuals and institutions such as Makerere University and the National Agricultural Research Organisation.

Best practices

Busingye emphasises that good breeds alone are not enough.

“Farmers must understand that feed, especially pasture, is key. That’s why we plant a variety of pastures, train farmers and sell seed,” he says.

After consulting Kabirizi, the farm began growing pastures systematically on three-and-a-half acres, storing hay and silage to ensure feed during dry seasons.

“Elephant grass alone is not enough. It fills the stomach, but lacks nutrients. Feeding cows only elephant grass is like humans eating matooke alone,” Busingye says.

Therefore, one needs to include the different varieties of grass for the cow to get the nutrients needed for body growth, producing milk and boosting immunity, among others, Busingye explains.

Pasture gardens require little bio-security, but to prevent destruction by stray animals, the farm is fenced. The pastures are grown without chemicals, keeping the environment clean. Waste, mainly dung and pasture leftovers, is converted into biogas through a partnership with East African Energy Solutions.

The by-products are used as fertilisers, closing the loop between waste and production.

Busingye emphasises that farmers must understand their environment because different pasture varieties thrive under specific conditions.

“Farmers in swampy areas should grow elephant grass and Guatemala, while those in dry areas like Masaka, Mubende, Ankole and Isingiro districts should plant chloris gayana because it withstands dry spells,” he says.

Pastures can be fed fresh or stored as hay and silage for dry seasons.

“They ensure animals remain productive even in dry seasons,” Busingye says.

The amount grown should match herd size. For example, two cows can be sustained on one acre, provided the pasture is harvested twice before stocking.

Varieties like Russian comfrey and elephant grass mature in three months, while calliandra and Guatemala take six. Fertilisers, often dung, are essential for productivity.

Fabricating forage choppers

Asiimwe explains that pastures must be cut into small pieces to be palatable.

“Manual cutting was tiresome and wasteful,” she says.

To ease the work, Itungo began fabricating forage choppers, which they sell to farmers. They also provide silage bags and hay-making boxes to improve storage.

Workforce

Itungo employs seven permanent workers and four casual labourers for planting, weeding and harvesting. Permanent staff earn sh250,000 – sh300,000 monthly, while casual workers are paid sh10,000 per day.

Working with the community

Itungo Pastures is recognised as a model farm. Farmers from across southwestern Uganda and beyond visit to learn pasture management, pellet production and value addition.

The farm demonstrates how innovation, training and persistence can transform livestock farming from subsistence to profi table agribusiness.

“Community members now see pasture as both feed and business. Farmers no longer struggle during dry seasons,” Busingye says.

The farm is part of the Dairy Farmers Network, which organises learning trips and training with experts from National Livestock Resources Research Institute, as well as Makerere and Kyambogo universities, among others.

In Kiruhura, Itungo is a member of Kashongi Farmer Cooperative, where farmers learn best dairy practices to boost productivity and incomes.

Neighbours have also been inspired. One started poultry farming after admiring Itungo’s poultry house, another established a dairy farm after training.

Many have ventured into pasture growing using seed from Itungo. Students from schools and agricultural institutions regularly visit for hands-on learning.

Challenges

Busingye highlights the lack of affordable credit.

“Commercial banks don’t understand farming dynamics. Yet farming is profitable if properly invested in,” he says.

Farmers also lack demonstration farms to benchmark best practices, forcing many to learn through costly trial and error.

Busingye adds that cooperative societies are weak, leaving farmers without collective bargaining power for inputs, marketing, or storage.

“We don’t have farmer cooperative societies that would bring farmers together to work on our challenges together like marketing, finances for buying inputs like seeds, drugs and bulk for storage and marketing,” Busingye says.

The other challenge, he says, is a lack of well-established farms, where farmers can learn the best agronomic practices to benchmark what they want to do on their farms.

This has made those who want to venture into farming to burn their own fingers as they are their own Guinea pigs.

Pasture varieties

The farm grows over 20 varieties, including chloris gayana, giant setaria, Pakchong 1 super napier, red napier, Indonesian napier, forage sorghum, alfalfa and sweet potato vines from Uganda and Kenya.

Busingye advises farmers to choose pastures based on nutritional value as follows:

• Carbohydrates: Pakchong napier, Tembo maize, sugar graze sorghum, chloris gayana.
• Proteins: Alfalfa and katambura hybrids, which also fix nitrogen.
• Hay mixes: Chloris gayana with legumes like Centrosema, Glycine and Stylo.

Looking to the future

Itungo Pastures co-founder and director Pison Busingye says they plan to open an outlet in Wakiso town to sell seeds, hay, silage and forage choppers, making inputs more accessible. They also envision transforming the farm into an agro-tourism centre.

“A farm can be a perfect home away from home,” he says.

The couple hopes to expand into dairy processing and build a legacy for future generations.

Jolly Asiimwe, Busingye’s wife, now general manager, supervises all activities. After leaving unsuccessful ventures in retail, she joined her husband at the farm.

“Ever since I joined farming, everything changed drastically. I love and enjoy what I am doing, and it is a well-paying venture,” she says.