Wasswa never knew the value of farming until he lost his job
Sep 20, 2011
My Way: Abdul Wasswa<br>Harvest Money meets a young man whose fortunes changed after he gave dairy farming a try
By Charles Kakamwa and Charles Okalebo
My Way: Abdul Wasswa
Harvest Money meets a young man whose fortunes changed after he gave dairy farming a try
When Abdu Wasswa, 37, lost his job in 2000, he was naturally distressed. As a young man who had just joined the working class, the sudden loss of a job did not only come as a shock but a setback in pursuit of a dream to develop his career.
Two years earlier, in 1998, Wasswa had graduated with a diploma in business studies from Kampala College of Business Studies, majoring in accounting.
On completion, he was lucky to secure a job as a supervisor at Greenfields Uganda Limited, a fish-processing firm based in Entebbe. He worked very hard to please his employers as well as perfect his skills, only to lose the job in 2000.
Wasswa and his colleagues woke up one day to shocking news that the company had been closed because the place had so many people yet there was a threat of a cholera epidemic at the time! After six months, the factory was re-opened but very few employees re-possessed their jobs.
Within the two years of his service, Wasswa had not saved enough money from his monthly income of sh230,000 because of the high cost of living in an urban area. Rather than waste time roaming the streets of Entebbe and Kampala in search of another job, he returned to his home village-Namilyango in Wakisi sub-county, Buikwe district.
Back home, he would help his mother with domestic chores and tending to the family garden. Then one day, after listening to a local preacher he decided to give his life to Jesus Christ and became a born again Christian.
Two weeks later, his church, Naminya Miracle Centre, hosted visitors from the US. The local pastors looked around for a person who could speak English and translate the messages into the local language for the hosts and other residents, a task Wasswa willingly took up.
Little did he know that the voluntary services would be a stepping stone on his path to success.
How he started
At the end of their stay, the American visitors probably impressed by the work done by their hosts, gave three leaders of the church $200 each. Wasswa, was also given the same amount, probably in appreciation of his interpretation work.
As others used their gifts to purchase good suits and acquire other properties, Wasswa put aside the luxuries and decided to invest his money elsewhere. He bought a heifer with the hope of starting a dairy farm.
He zero-grazed the cow on the family land with the help of his mother and before two years elapsed, it had given birth a calf. He started selling milk to neighbours in the village.
The farm kept expanding with time and today Wasswa has 30 heifers on his farm, all Fresians from US, South Africa and others from a breeding centre in Entebbe. His ‘Dominion Egg and Dairy Farm’ has an average milk production capacity of between 80 to 90 litres a day.
He sells a litre at sh1,000 in Jinja town and neighbouring urban centres like Njeru town council in Buikwe and employs three workers including his mother Sarah Lukwago who is the farm manager.
Expanding to poultry
In 2002 Wasswa ventured into poultry farming starting off with 200 birds. He did not have enough space but discussed the idea with his landlord on Waibale road in Jinja town, who gave him the garage of his house to act as a poultry house.
He then purchased 200 layers using the money he and his wife Betty Wasswa received as gifts from friends on their wedding day. “After the wedding, we agreed that instead of going on honeymoon like most people do, we needed to invest the sh700,000 we got in a profitable business, that is how the poultry farm started,†he says.
The business was progressing well until one day when the landlord got annoyed and ordered Wasswa to move the chicken out of his garage.
“One time the landlord needed eggs and approached me so I gave him one tray free of charge. Another day he came for one more and I accepted but the third time I hesitated, I told him I was running a business which could not be managed that way. This annoyed him and he ordered me out of his garage. I had no option but to sell all my birds since I had no other space to keep them,†Wasswa says.
More opportunities
As he was still contemplating his next move following the shocking experience, Wasswa got an opportunity of visiting the US on invitation of his friend, Paul Hunter.
While there, he visited Mahard Farm in Texas, which is said to be one of the biggest chicken farms in the US with over 40 million layers and later ‘Willamette Egg Farms’ in Oregon state where he was offered a three-months training.
To his surprise when he expected to be charged for the training, Wasswa was instead given $10,000 on completion of the course. During the three months period he learnt 42 different recipes (formulas) and is now an expert in poultry breeding and rearing.
“When I returned, I built my first chicken house and booked chicks from Bukomo hatchery in Seeta, Mukono district. I then bought 450 chicks and booked another 710 later using the money I got from the US,†he says.
Today Wasswa, boasts of about 1,000 layers on his farm. He collects between 17-20 trays of eggs per day. He sells each tray at sh6,000 fetching him at least sh700,000 a week.
Wasswa earns a grand total of sh1.5m a month from both the poultry and dairy projects but the different expenses on the farm cost him sh600,000 monthly. This leaves him with a personal monthly income of sh900,000.
The expenditure includes payment of salary to three employees with each getting sh100,000 monthly.
Community empowerment
In 2008 Wasswa embarked on a project to donate heifers to members of the community with the aim of empowering them to fight poverty. He started with his home parish Naminya where eight farmers have already benefited. He, however, hopes to expand the project to cover the whole sub-county in future.
He uses a simple criteria in selecting the beneficiaries. “I choose families that are poor but with the potential to look after these exotic animals because they need extra care which calls for some financial expenditure, unlike our local breeds,†he says.
As a condition, each beneficiary is required to bring back the first female calf, which is then given to another member of the community. The project is doing well and Wasswa is optimistic it will impact many families and improve their standards of living in the next 10 years.
Three years after its inception, the project has started bearing fruits. Apart from increasing milk production and the level of income in the community, it has created security for people’s livestock.
“Initially people never cared even when animals were being stolen but now it is difficult to steal livestock here as it has become a community concern. Even those who have not benefited directly are concerned about the safety of their neighbours’ animals,†he says
Achievements
Apart from the family land where he has been doing his projects, Wasswa recently acquired 15 acres of land next to the family home using proceeds from his dairy farm.
When he felt the need to expand the farm, he sold four heifers from his stock, fetching him the sh10m.
He constructed a 120-feet water pump on the farm to ensure constant water supply for his livestock and birds. The system uses solar power to pump water. “I use 40 jerrycans of water every two days on the farms, before I got this pump I would buy each jerrycan at sh 250,†he says.
With a monthly earning of sh900,000 from his projects and the satisfaction he derives from the kind of work he does, Wasswa believes he cannot look for any other job.
Challenges
Like any other job, Wasswa has had to contend with several setbacks since he ventured into farming. In May this year, his chicken stock was reduced by 177 birds after thieves broke into the chicken house at night.
He is also perturbed that the cost of medication for cattle keeps rising yet the price of milk never increases. He also feels he has limited space to implement his projects effectively.
Plans
Wasswa intends to expand his projects and venture into other farming activities to cover the entire 15 acres of land that he acquired. He says five acres of his land will be dedicated to poultry farming. Fish-farming will be done on two acres while the rest will be left to cattle farming. Wasswa and his wife Betty have three children. The eldest is aged 10 years in P.4.
My Way: Abdul Wasswa
Harvest Money meets a young man whose fortunes changed after he gave dairy farming a try
When Abdu Wasswa, 37, lost his job in 2000, he was naturally distressed. As a young man who had just joined the working class, the sudden loss of a job did not only come as a shock but a setback in pursuit of a dream to develop his career.
Two years earlier, in 1998, Wasswa had graduated with a diploma in business studies from Kampala College of Business Studies, majoring in accounting.
On completion, he was lucky to secure a job as a supervisor at Greenfields Uganda Limited, a fish-processing firm based in Entebbe. He worked very hard to please his employers as well as perfect his skills, only to lose the job in 2000.
Wasswa and his colleagues woke up one day to shocking news that the company had been closed because the place had so many people yet there was a threat of a cholera epidemic at the time! After six months, the factory was re-opened but very few employees re-possessed their jobs.
Within the two years of his service, Wasswa had not saved enough money from his monthly income of sh230,000 because of the high cost of living in an urban area. Rather than waste time roaming the streets of Entebbe and Kampala in search of another job, he returned to his home village-Namilyango in Wakisi sub-county, Buikwe district.
Back home, he would help his mother with domestic chores and tending to the family garden. Then one day, after listening to a local preacher he decided to give his life to Jesus Christ and became a born again Christian.
Two weeks later, his church, Naminya Miracle Centre, hosted visitors from the US. The local pastors looked around for a person who could speak English and translate the messages into the local language for the hosts and other residents, a task Wasswa willingly took up.
Little did he know that the voluntary services would be a stepping stone on his path to success.
How he started
At the end of their stay, the American visitors probably impressed by the work done by their hosts, gave three leaders of the church $200 each. Wasswa, was also given the same amount, probably in appreciation of his interpretation work.
As others used their gifts to purchase good suits and acquire other properties, Wasswa put aside the luxuries and decided to invest his money elsewhere. He bought a heifer with the hope of starting a dairy farm.
He zero-grazed the cow on the family land with the help of his mother and before two years elapsed, it had given birth a calf. He started selling milk to neighbours in the village.
The farm kept expanding with time and today Wasswa has 30 heifers on his farm, all Fresians from US, South Africa and others from a breeding centre in Entebbe. His ‘Dominion Egg and Dairy Farm’ has an average milk production capacity of between 80 to 90 litres a day.
He sells a litre at sh1,000 in Jinja town and neighbouring urban centres like Njeru town council in Buikwe and employs three workers including his mother Sarah Lukwago who is the farm manager.
Expanding to poultry
In 2002 Wasswa ventured into poultry farming starting off with 200 birds. He did not have enough space but discussed the idea with his landlord on Waibale road in Jinja town, who gave him the garage of his house to act as a poultry house.
He then purchased 200 layers using the money he and his wife Betty Wasswa received as gifts from friends on their wedding day. “After the wedding, we agreed that instead of going on honeymoon like most people do, we needed to invest the sh700,000 we got in a profitable business, that is how the poultry farm started,†he says.
The business was progressing well until one day when the landlord got annoyed and ordered Wasswa to move the chicken out of his garage.
“One time the landlord needed eggs and approached me so I gave him one tray free of charge. Another day he came for one more and I accepted but the third time I hesitated, I told him I was running a business which could not be managed that way. This annoyed him and he ordered me out of his garage. I had no option but to sell all my birds since I had no other space to keep them,†Wasswa says.
More opportunities
As he was still contemplating his next move following the shocking experience, Wasswa got an opportunity of visiting the US on invitation of his friend, Paul Hunter.
While there, he visited Mahard Farm in Texas, which is said to be one of the biggest chicken farms in the US with over 40 million layers and later ‘Willamette Egg Farms’ in Oregon state where he was offered a three-months training.
To his surprise when he expected to be charged for the training, Wasswa was instead given $10,000 on completion of the course. During the three months period he learnt 42 different recipes (formulas) and is now an expert in poultry breeding and rearing.
“When I returned, I built my first chicken house and booked chicks from Bukomo hatchery in Seeta, Mukono district. I then bought 450 chicks and booked another 710 later using the money I got from the US,†he says.
Today Wasswa, boasts of about 1,000 layers on his farm. He collects between 17-20 trays of eggs per day. He sells each tray at sh6,000 fetching him at least sh700,000 a week.
Wasswa earns a grand total of sh1.5m a month from both the poultry and dairy projects but the different expenses on the farm cost him sh600,000 monthly. This leaves him with a personal monthly income of sh900,000.
The expenditure includes payment of salary to three employees with each getting sh100,000 monthly.
Community empowerment
In 2008 Wasswa embarked on a project to donate heifers to members of the community with the aim of empowering them to fight poverty. He started with his home parish Naminya where eight farmers have already benefited. He, however, hopes to expand the project to cover the whole sub-county in future.
He uses a simple criteria in selecting the beneficiaries. “I choose families that are poor but with the potential to look after these exotic animals because they need extra care which calls for some financial expenditure, unlike our local breeds,†he says.
As a condition, each beneficiary is required to bring back the first female calf, which is then given to another member of the community. The project is doing well and Wasswa is optimistic it will impact many families and improve their standards of living in the next 10 years.
Three years after its inception, the project has started bearing fruits. Apart from increasing milk production and the level of income in the community, it has created security for people’s livestock.
“Initially people never cared even when animals were being stolen but now it is difficult to steal livestock here as it has become a community concern. Even those who have not benefited directly are concerned about the safety of their neighbours’ animals,†he says
Achievements
Apart from the family land where he has been doing his projects, Wasswa recently acquired 15 acres of land next to the family home using proceeds from his dairy farm.
When he felt the need to expand the farm, he sold four heifers from his stock, fetching him the sh10m.
He constructed a 120-feet water pump on the farm to ensure constant water supply for his livestock and birds. The system uses solar power to pump water. “I use 40 jerrycans of water every two days on the farms, before I got this pump I would buy each jerrycan at sh 250,†he says.
With a monthly earning of sh900,000 from his projects and the satisfaction he derives from the kind of work he does, Wasswa believes he cannot look for any other job.
Challenges
Like any other job, Wasswa has had to contend with several setbacks since he ventured into farming. In May this year, his chicken stock was reduced by 177 birds after thieves broke into the chicken house at night.
He is also perturbed that the cost of medication for cattle keeps rising yet the price of milk never increases. He also feels he has limited space to implement his projects effectively.
Plans
Wasswa intends to expand his projects and venture into other farming activities to cover the entire 15 acres of land that he acquired. He says five acres of his land will be dedicated to poultry farming. Fish-farming will be done on two acres while the rest will be left to cattle farming. Wasswa and his wife Betty have three children. The eldest is aged 10 years in P.4.