Running has enabled Kipsiro live his farming dream
Nov 02, 2010
<b>My Way: Moses Kipsiro</b><br>Determined to achieve his childhood dream to be a successful farmer, Moses Kipsiro used most of his earnings from running to buy land for farming. Today he is one of the most successful maize and wheat farmer in his home village in Bukwo.
By FREDERICK WOMAKUYU
My Way: Moses Kipsiro
Determined to achieve his childhood dream to be a successful farmer, Moses Kipsiro used most of his earnings from running to buy land for farming. Today he is one of the most successful maize and wheat farmer in his home village in Bukwo.
From quarter an acre, Kipsiro has acquired 70 acres of land and built a house
HE is the kind of young man a maiden would desire for a husband, a mother would wish for a son and a nation would want for a citizen. Moses Kipsiro has the talent, the looks, the fame, and the money, yet he remains a modest young man with his head squarely screwed on his shoulders. The 24-year-old athlete’s down-to-earth character even when the entire world is still marvelling over his recent exploits on the track, has a lot to do with his humble background. Born in a poor family in Bukwo district in eastern Uganda, Kipsiro’s only asset was a pair of sturdy and extremely fast legs. His parents owned less than quarter an acre of land on which they grew food to feed the family. To make ends meet, they would also do extra work on other people’s gardens for a fee.
Background becomes motivation
Inspired by the desire to reverse the situation, Kipsiro discovered that his talent could be the stepping stone out of abject poverty. He trained hard — often racing through the rugged, winding and hilly terrain of Bukwo on the edges of Mt. Elgon National Park. He eventually started competing and winning races at a local level and was spotted by scouts that propelled him to the national level. In 2004, Kipsiro won his first national race in the Ezra Truck Team and was rewarded with a cash prize of over sh5m. “I did not waste the money. I bought five acres of land and a maize mill to help my parents earn some income but also till the land to grow some crops,†says Kipsiro. He cultivated maize on the newly acquired piece of land and the harvest was big. In spite of the fact that he did not apply fertilisers, Kipsiro harvested 200 bags. He gave three-quarters of the harvest to his father’s family of two wives and 19 children. “Since I was still staying with my parents, we sold some of the maize to acquire basics like salt, soap and scholastic materials for my siblings,†adds Kipsiro. The success inspired the young Kipsiro to train even harder. With time, winning junior races at the national level and receiving small cash prizes became his trademark. He used every penny wisely to acquire assets with land as the priority. “I had a dream to carry out commercial farming but I needed a big portion of land. So, whenever I got money, I would buy land for farming,†he explains. By 2007, Kipsiro had bought 70 acres of land. He gave 10 acres to his parents and another 10 to his siblings. He then embarked on his farming dream.
Kipsiro starts farming
With the 50 acres he remained with, Kipsiro started serious farming in 2008. He allocated 30 acres of the land to maize growing, 10 to acres to wheat growing and the other 10 acres to cattle rearing.
He bought hybrid maize seeds from Kitale in Kenya and inter-cropped it with beans.
Kipsiro hired local labour at sh30,000 per acre to weed his farm. Weeding would be done twice a season.
Because of its location at a cold, high altitude area, Bukwo district — a border region overlooking Kenya has one long farming season that runs from April to November.
Kipsiro had his first harvest in October 2008 and it was a bumper one. He harvested 30 bags of maize per acre, over 900 bags in total. He also harvested seven bags of beans per acre, totalling over 210 bags.
In November 2008, he sold 300 bags of maize at sh40,000 per bag to Kenyan traders and he got over sh12m. He also sold 100 bags of beans at sh100,000 per bag bringing him sh10m.
He got a total of sh22m and used it to buy 10 calves and to organise his grand wedding that took place on December 13, 2008.
Before Kipsiro got married, he had very little time for his farming project due to his busy training and competition schedule. He relied on family members to manage his businesses but felt they did not capture the vision he wanted to achieve.
“When I married, this unlocked my potential. During the 2009 season, there was drought and people did not have food. So I sold about 300 bags of maize at sh70,000 per bag and got sh21m,†he says.
He also sold 50 bags of beans at sh100,000 per bag, totalling sh5m.
Kipsiro used the money to buy another five acres of land atop a hill in Bukwo Town Council and constructed his four bedroom permanent home and a two-bedroom guest house.
He sold another 100 bags of maize at sh70,000 per bag, fetching sh7m. He used the money to buy five acres of land where he is constructing the headquarters of his athletes’ camp, where he trains and accommodates the athletes.
“I want this team to take over from me when I retire. I have a group of at least 12 athletes aged 12-19 and they are already promising to be good at long races. Soon they will be champions and that is my dream,†adds Kipsiro.
He stored 200 bags of maize and 51 bags of beans in his huge granary at home.
Achievements
With his wife in charge of his farming business, Kipsiro achieved a lot more. He bought twotrucks.
He also built a lodge of 15 rooms and a commodity shop in Bukwo town.
Kipsiro says his wife is the secret behind his success because she carefully keeps and uses every penny for its purpose. She also supervises the farm activities and this has helped them succeed as a family in farming.â€
With an annual turn over of about 900 bags of maize and 210 bags of beans, Kipsiro earns over sh100 million from farming annually — thanks to hard work in athletics.
He employs about 20 locals on a permanent basis to manage his maize farm, over 45 heads of cattle and this season he has cultivated 30 acres of wheat and he is likely to harvest a fortune because every seed is healthy and has grown to maturity.
In his first season of wheat this year, he hopes to get 15 bags of wheat from each acre and this will give him a total of over 450 bags. With the current price of each kilo of unprocessed wheat going for sh400 in Bukwo, he expects to harvest millions.
Challenges
Kispsiro, however, says his biggest challenge is the rugged terrain of Bukwo that makes it difficult to transport produce to the rest of Uganda leading to low prices.
The road leading to Bukwo is often impassable during the rainy season and Kipsiro and other farmers have to rely on the exploitative Kenyan market to sell their produce.
“The Kenyans give us a low price and sell it at a very high price. For example, they are currently buying a kilogram of maize at sh150 in Bukwo but sell it at sh1,000 in Kenya. The Government should come in to save the Bukwo farmers,†he pleads.
Kipsiro, like other farmers relies on the rainfall pattern and this shocked them in 2009 when a prolonged drought killed almost all their crops. He requests the Government to provide farmers with credit to acquire irrigation technology on their farm.
My Way: Moses Kipsiro
Determined to achieve his childhood dream to be a successful farmer, Moses Kipsiro used most of his earnings from running to buy land for farming. Today he is one of the most successful maize and wheat farmer in his home village in Bukwo.
From quarter an acre, Kipsiro has acquired 70 acres of land and built a house
HE is the kind of young man a maiden would desire for a husband, a mother would wish for a son and a nation would want for a citizen. Moses Kipsiro has the talent, the looks, the fame, and the money, yet he remains a modest young man with his head squarely screwed on his shoulders. The 24-year-old athlete’s down-to-earth character even when the entire world is still marvelling over his recent exploits on the track, has a lot to do with his humble background. Born in a poor family in Bukwo district in eastern Uganda, Kipsiro’s only asset was a pair of sturdy and extremely fast legs. His parents owned less than quarter an acre of land on which they grew food to feed the family. To make ends meet, they would also do extra work on other people’s gardens for a fee.
Background becomes motivation
Inspired by the desire to reverse the situation, Kipsiro discovered that his talent could be the stepping stone out of abject poverty. He trained hard — often racing through the rugged, winding and hilly terrain of Bukwo on the edges of Mt. Elgon National Park. He eventually started competing and winning races at a local level and was spotted by scouts that propelled him to the national level. In 2004, Kipsiro won his first national race in the Ezra Truck Team and was rewarded with a cash prize of over sh5m. “I did not waste the money. I bought five acres of land and a maize mill to help my parents earn some income but also till the land to grow some crops,†says Kipsiro. He cultivated maize on the newly acquired piece of land and the harvest was big. In spite of the fact that he did not apply fertilisers, Kipsiro harvested 200 bags. He gave three-quarters of the harvest to his father’s family of two wives and 19 children. “Since I was still staying with my parents, we sold some of the maize to acquire basics like salt, soap and scholastic materials for my siblings,†adds Kipsiro. The success inspired the young Kipsiro to train even harder. With time, winning junior races at the national level and receiving small cash prizes became his trademark. He used every penny wisely to acquire assets with land as the priority. “I had a dream to carry out commercial farming but I needed a big portion of land. So, whenever I got money, I would buy land for farming,†he explains. By 2007, Kipsiro had bought 70 acres of land. He gave 10 acres to his parents and another 10 to his siblings. He then embarked on his farming dream.
Kipsiro starts farming
With the 50 acres he remained with, Kipsiro started serious farming in 2008. He allocated 30 acres of the land to maize growing, 10 to acres to wheat growing and the other 10 acres to cattle rearing.
He bought hybrid maize seeds from Kitale in Kenya and inter-cropped it with beans.
Kipsiro hired local labour at sh30,000 per acre to weed his farm. Weeding would be done twice a season.
Because of its location at a cold, high altitude area, Bukwo district — a border region overlooking Kenya has one long farming season that runs from April to November.
Kipsiro had his first harvest in October 2008 and it was a bumper one. He harvested 30 bags of maize per acre, over 900 bags in total. He also harvested seven bags of beans per acre, totalling over 210 bags.
In November 2008, he sold 300 bags of maize at sh40,000 per bag to Kenyan traders and he got over sh12m. He also sold 100 bags of beans at sh100,000 per bag bringing him sh10m.
He got a total of sh22m and used it to buy 10 calves and to organise his grand wedding that took place on December 13, 2008.
Before Kipsiro got married, he had very little time for his farming project due to his busy training and competition schedule. He relied on family members to manage his businesses but felt they did not capture the vision he wanted to achieve.
“When I married, this unlocked my potential. During the 2009 season, there was drought and people did not have food. So I sold about 300 bags of maize at sh70,000 per bag and got sh21m,†he says.
He also sold 50 bags of beans at sh100,000 per bag, totalling sh5m.
Kipsiro used the money to buy another five acres of land atop a hill in Bukwo Town Council and constructed his four bedroom permanent home and a two-bedroom guest house.
He sold another 100 bags of maize at sh70,000 per bag, fetching sh7m. He used the money to buy five acres of land where he is constructing the headquarters of his athletes’ camp, where he trains and accommodates the athletes.
“I want this team to take over from me when I retire. I have a group of at least 12 athletes aged 12-19 and they are already promising to be good at long races. Soon they will be champions and that is my dream,†adds Kipsiro.
He stored 200 bags of maize and 51 bags of beans in his huge granary at home.
Achievements
With his wife in charge of his farming business, Kipsiro achieved a lot more. He bought twotrucks.
He also built a lodge of 15 rooms and a commodity shop in Bukwo town.
Kipsiro says his wife is the secret behind his success because she carefully keeps and uses every penny for its purpose. She also supervises the farm activities and this has helped them succeed as a family in farming.â€
With an annual turn over of about 900 bags of maize and 210 bags of beans, Kipsiro earns over sh100 million from farming annually — thanks to hard work in athletics.
He employs about 20 locals on a permanent basis to manage his maize farm, over 45 heads of cattle and this season he has cultivated 30 acres of wheat and he is likely to harvest a fortune because every seed is healthy and has grown to maturity.
In his first season of wheat this year, he hopes to get 15 bags of wheat from each acre and this will give him a total of over 450 bags. With the current price of each kilo of unprocessed wheat going for sh400 in Bukwo, he expects to harvest millions.
Challenges
Kispsiro, however, says his biggest challenge is the rugged terrain of Bukwo that makes it difficult to transport produce to the rest of Uganda leading to low prices.
The road leading to Bukwo is often impassable during the rainy season and Kipsiro and other farmers have to rely on the exploitative Kenyan market to sell their produce.
“The Kenyans give us a low price and sell it at a very high price. For example, they are currently buying a kilogram of maize at sh150 in Bukwo but sell it at sh1,000 in Kenya. The Government should come in to save the Bukwo farmers,†he pleads.
Kipsiro, like other farmers relies on the rainfall pattern and this shocked them in 2009 when a prolonged drought killed almost all their crops. He requests the Government to provide farmers with credit to acquire irrigation technology on their farm.