Phoebe Kagambe is the best farmer in the Toro, Rwenzoris and Bunyoro region

VISION GROUP | HARVEST MONEY | BEST FARMERS | KYENJOJO

Phoebe Kusiima Kagambe, a mixed-farmer from Kyenjojo, has been declared the best farmer in Toro, Rwenzoris and Bunyoro. Kagambe was awarded this afternoon during the the Vision Group Best Farmer Awards ceremony at the company's head offices in Kampala.

“People always ask me why I left a ‘big’ job for the farm and my answer is I wanted something I could depend on without having to wait for a pay cheque.”
Phoebe Kusiima Kagambe was a counsellor at Kyebambe Girls’ Secondary School and she quit in 2000 and does not regret the decision.

Before setting up the farm, her first step was creating a business plan, which she says has helped the family to stay true to the vision.

Today, the farm sits on 138 acres and has 74 Holstein Friesian cows, 240 South African Savannah breed goats, 10 acres of bananas as well as 24 acres of coffee. Other enterprises include 10 acres of cocoa, 10 acres of maize, 10 acres of napier grass and two acres of vanilla. The farm is located in Rwentale-Kamata village, Kyarusozi sub-county Kyenjojo district.

She has a labour force of six permanent workers and 40 casual ones; 98% of whom are youths.
She started on 50 acres and sh10m that her husband Prof. Dr Edmond Kagambe gave her.
“I used the money to get good breeds of goats and dairy cows,” she explains.
Determining the herd size, she says was based on the management skills, local conditions and the availability of land, infrastructure and feeds.

“I choose the breeds suitable for the local environment in Kyenjojo.”
They are vaccinated regularly to guard against diseases that can decrease productivity and profitability. In addition, the sick or injured cows receive immediate attention to minimise treatment expenses and guard against losses.
She keeps sick animals in an isolation paddock, separates their milk, and keeps records of all treatments. She uses only chemicals and medicines as directed by veterinary doctor.

To identify each animal from birth to death, Kagambe uses an identification system (plastic ear tag or electronic - radio frequency identification system technology ear tag).
Regarding the milk, she says it is harvested and stored under hygiene conditions, equipment like milk buckets used to harvest are stored in well-maintained rooms to hold milk at the specified temperature.
“I always make sure that milking routines do not injure the animals or introduce contaminants into milk. I make sure that a sufficient supply of clean water ensures milking equipment is installed and maintained,” she explains.

For the best yields, the livestock has to be given enough feeds and water.
“I always secure feed and water supplies from sustainable sources. I plan ahead to ensure that the herd’s feed requirements are met. Rotational or paddock grazing system is used at the farm. This allows me to better manage pastures,” she said.
However, it requires a lot of labour to maintain the paddocks. She considered landscape, forage, livestock, water and fence.
“I also constructed a dam that can accommodate nine million litres to ensure availability of water during dry spells. Water is also stored in tanks (60,000 litres) and flows by gravity to paddocks,” she says.

Disease prevention includes a cattle crush where the cattle are periodically sprayed against ticks, flies and other parasites.
“It is a fairly well managed farm and you can clearly see that Kagambe is involved in all the activities. We saw farms where the owner was distant, but not for Kagambe,” Ogenga Latigo observed.

This is the eighth year running that Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, are running the Best Farmers competition. The 2023 competition run from March to November, culminating in today’s awards ceremony.