Best farmers: Meet Morris Ogweng

Ogweng, 32 is a very young, daring and innovative agricultural entrepreneur who has invested in basic production (dairy, fish, goat, honey), processing and value addition (grain milling). However, for the purposes of this competition, emphasis was put on goat rearing and fish farming (aquaculture).

The goat farm situated in Nwoya district is a new enterprise located on more than 200 acres of land. The farmer has hundreds of goats under intensive management, and targets a peak capacity of 1000 goats of improved local crosses with South African breeds, and also grows some bananas for food.

The goats are stall fed on planted fodder (mulberry & Johnson grass) and allowed open grazing in fenced paddocks, and are under the management of a qualified veterinarian and several keepers. They are regularly sprayed, dewormed and treated because he is targeting the goat market in the Middle East although he currently sells culled goats and males only locally.

Ogweng also practises fish farming, done in constructed ponds and cages in a public dam in Kole district. Cage fish farming is a great innovation, particularly when carried out in a public dam constructed for public use and using cages fabricated by the farmer himself. This is a new innovation that can be replicated in many parts of the country.

Ogweng has over 100 cages and over 450,000 sex-converted tilapia that will be ready for sale in December to Kenyan buyers, for which he expects to earn nearly UGX1 billion. He is establishing a fish feed mill to ease feeding the fish. He also supports other fish farmers with training and market access, fingerlings produced by female fish in the cages restock the dam and the community fish from the dam.

The cage fish farming which can be easily replicated to transform fish farming in the country makes him stand out from his peers.

To promote farming Vision Group, the Netherland Embassy in Uganda, dfcu bank and KLM organise the competition dabbed best farmers. The top 13 farmers share sh150m and a fully sponsored trip to the Netherlands to learn from farmers there.

Started in the 2014 the competition is aimed at recognising farmers, showcasing successful ones and demonstrating how farming can be a fulfilling occupation.

To join the competition farmers have to be nominated by the public by sending the name of the farmer, telephone number and district using SMS to 8338, email harvestmoney@newvision.co.ug or dropping it at any of the New Vision offices.

The 2015 winners arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday and New Vision online will publish regular updates of their tour.