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Feb 17, 2009
IT is difficult to believe that there is a profitable agricultural enterprise inside this enclosed homestead at Seguku. The farm is located in an urban setting on less than 0.2 acres of land. This includes space occupied by two houses.
Everyday for the next few months, The New Vision will run a series of stories on wealth creation role models from all over the country for Ugandans who would like to learn from them to generate wealth from our natural resources.
By Joshua Kato
IT is difficult to believe that there is a profitable agricultural enterprise inside this enclosed homestead at Seguku. The farm is located in an urban setting on less than 0.2 acres of land. This includes space occupied by two houses.
Many people in urban areas have this kind of space, but regard it as useless. However, Dr. Jolly Kabirizi discovered the secret and converted a small piece of land into a gold mine.
The 21 goats occupy 10x2 metres of land, while the five cows and two calves occupy another 10x10 metres of land. The other space was used to construct a 20x10 ft room that doubles as her training room and store for hay.
Kabirizi is a qualified forage scientist, holding a PhD degree in animal science. She works with the National Livestock Resources Research Institute in Tororo and at the institute headquarters in Namulonge, Luweero district.
At Dr. Kabirizi’s farm, the motto is “a farmer’s foot is the best manure. It means good management with supervision is the key,†she explains.
The farm was started in 1990 with one cow donated by the Heifer Project for Women Farmers in Mpigi district. Unfortunately, the cow was poisoned three months after she received it.
“I did not give up, I later purchased another cow on credit from an organisation funded by European Development Fund (EDF) to improve household income and nutrition through dairy cattle farming. I was able to pay back the loan three months after the animal had calved.â€
Being an agriculturist, it was difficult for Kabirizi to teach farming without having a model farm. “I had to set up a place where I could invite people for practical lessons,†she says.
The farm has tremendously progressed. “I am currently keeping five cows, two heifer calves and 23 improved goats. I have been able to sell at least two cows every year between sh800,000 and sh1.2m per cow.â€
Goats are sold to breeders or to people who want them for introduction ceremonies between sh50,000 and sh150,000 per goat, depending on the breed. She has also been able to donate three bull calves and five female calves to women farmers in the region.
According to Kabirizi, milk yield depends on many factors including the season, feeds and feed management, stage of lactation, parity and breed. Average milk yield per cow at peak period, three months after calving, is 20 litres from a crossbreed friesian cow and 15 litres from a jersey cow. Average price per litre of milk is sh800.
“I have customers who travel about 3km to pick milk from my farm. I put a lot of emphasis on quality. I do not allow workers to add water to the milk. I ensure quality and quantity by encouraging my customers to give me feedback on the quality and quantity of milk they receive.â€
Giving cows the right feed is the key to effective maintenance of dairy cows. “I always make sure I offer the animals the best feeds.
Elephant grass fodder is the basic forage for the cows and goats, but I always make sure there is hay for emergency,†she explains. Milk yield largely depends on the genetic potential of the cow, the feeds and feed management system and disease control. I keep animals that give high milk yield to enable me recover the cost of production.
Many people do not believe they can effectively keep five cows under zero grazing, feeding them on specially prepared grass. Kabirizi does it effectively.
“I make my own hay. I make my dairy meal which comprises maize bran, cotton seed cake, calliandra leaf hay, mineral powder and poultry litter.
To run a zero grazing farm, you need food peelings and left-overs. To manage this, Dr. Kabirizi buys left-over food from various sources. “I buy crop residues and banana peelings such as maize-stover from farmers and brewers’ mash from the breweries.â€
One tonne of brewers’ mash is supplied every month at sh50,000. This lasts for a month. To prevent it from rotting, it is covered with a polythene sheet and kept airtight. Banana peelings and brewer’s mash are offered as supplements (less 10kg of mash and less than a bag of banana peels for all the cows). The animals follow a very strict diet.
Although she is a senior civil servant, earnings from the enterprise have positively supplemented her income. I have been able to educate my children. I have three children and they are all graduates of Makerere University and working,†she says.
She also gives two litres of milk everyday to two orphans whose mothers died during childbirth. “I am happy to see these orphans alive today.â€
Dr. Kabirizi’s farm is a model farm. Visitors come from all over the country, to learn how to keep cows in a small space. Among those who visit are high ranking government officials and top city businessmen who are turning to agriculture.
She does not charge any fee for her training. She says the best day to visit her farm is Saturday.
“I train farmer groups and individual farmers at home during weekends. She has been invited by President Yoweri Museveni to visit his farm in Kisozi.
“Because of land shortage, all my animals are kept under a zero grazing production system. I make sure the place is always clean and disinfected.
Some of the manure is transported to the elephant grass and banana plantation fields and some of it is sold or given to other farmers. “I am also working on how to use manure to make poultry feeds.â€
“Control diseases by ensuring regular vaccination,†Kabirizi says.
Making nutrient feed blocks for sale to farmers
Nutrient feed block (NFB) technology is an innovative approach for supplying the necessary nutrients (protein, energy, vitamins and micro and macro minerals) to ruminants to take maximum advantage of poor quality forages, and crop residue. The blocks consist of locally available agro-industrial by-products like maize, rice or wheat bran, cotton seed cake, mineral powder and molasses.
They also consist of conserved forage like grass and fodder tree forage legume, leaf hay and farm waste like poultry litter, feed refusals and crop by-products.
Use of NFB is a convenient and inexpensive method of providing a range of supplementary nutrients suitable for the Ugandan commercial and peasantry animal husbandry.
Use of NFB as a strategic ruminant supplement is one of the nutritional strategies to reduce methane gas, an end product of nutrient fermentation in the rumen that is responsible for global warming. Using farm waste to make nutrient blocks clearly enhances environmental protection.
“We are very grateful to Prof. Kwesiga, the executive director of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Nakawa, who donated equipment that we use to make the blocks,†Kabirizi says. Each block, that weighs 4kg is sold at sh2,000.
Recent policy trends favour private sector participation in the delivery of services to farmers. Economic returns to feeding silage and or hay and nutrient feed blocks in the dry season justify investment in silage, hay and block production as a commercial service delivery by the private sector research institute.
Challenges
Feed shortage during the dry season is a major constraint in all small-holder dairy cattle and goat production systems. There is a need for the Government to provide funds to research institutes to commercialise hay and nutrient mineral blocks production.
Many farmers in urban areas want to keep animals, but lack land to plant pasture. One can maintain an animal on grass hay and crop residue but supplements like protein and energy sources such as calliandra leaf hay and nutrient block must be available.
High cost of inputs
Many farmers have given up farming because of the high cost of inputs. Recently, the price of maize bran increased from sh350 to sh500 per kilogramme. The high cost of fuel has increased the cost of production of milk.
Sub-standard inputs
Some feed millers have developed a habit of mixing maize bran with sand or saw dust. A farmer recently lost her cow when she offered maize bran mixed with saw dust containing nails.
One has to be very careful with the source of inputs.
Expensive artificial insemination
The cost of insemination is high. Some technicians charge over 50,000 per insemination. Sometimes it is difficult to get an inseminator to inseminate the cow at the right time.
Fact file
Name: Dr. Jolly Kabirizi
Farm: Kyakuwa farm
Location of farm: Seguku, off Entebbe Road
Farm size: 10 decimals
Enterprises: 7 dairy cows, 23 goats and banana plantation. Trains groups and individual farmers
When the farm was established:1990 with one cow donated by the Heifer Project for Women Farmers in Mpigi
Turn over: Sells 80 litres of milk per day. Sells two cows at sh800,000 to sh1m per year
How she markets her products: Buyers visit the farm. Encourages feedback from buyers
Contacts: 0777912716/0772434937
By Joshua Kato
IT is difficult to believe that there is a profitable agricultural enterprise inside this enclosed homestead at Seguku. The farm is located in an urban setting on less than 0.2 acres of land. This includes space occupied by two houses.
Many people in urban areas have this kind of space, but regard it as useless. However, Dr. Jolly Kabirizi discovered the secret and converted a small piece of land into a gold mine.
The 21 goats occupy 10x2 metres of land, while the five cows and two calves occupy another 10x10 metres of land. The other space was used to construct a 20x10 ft room that doubles as her training room and store for hay.
Kabirizi is a qualified forage scientist, holding a PhD degree in animal science. She works with the National Livestock Resources Research Institute in Tororo and at the institute headquarters in Namulonge, Luweero district.
At Dr. Kabirizi’s farm, the motto is “a farmer’s foot is the best manure. It means good management with supervision is the key,†she explains.
The farm was started in 1990 with one cow donated by the Heifer Project for Women Farmers in Mpigi district. Unfortunately, the cow was poisoned three months after she received it.
“I did not give up, I later purchased another cow on credit from an organisation funded by European Development Fund (EDF) to improve household income and nutrition through dairy cattle farming. I was able to pay back the loan three months after the animal had calved.â€
Being an agriculturist, it was difficult for Kabirizi to teach farming without having a model farm. “I had to set up a place where I could invite people for practical lessons,†she says.
The farm has tremendously progressed. “I am currently keeping five cows, two heifer calves and 23 improved goats. I have been able to sell at least two cows every year between sh800,000 and sh1.2m per cow.â€
Goats are sold to breeders or to people who want them for introduction ceremonies between sh50,000 and sh150,000 per goat, depending on the breed. She has also been able to donate three bull calves and five female calves to women farmers in the region.
According to Kabirizi, milk yield depends on many factors including the season, feeds and feed management, stage of lactation, parity and breed. Average milk yield per cow at peak period, three months after calving, is 20 litres from a crossbreed friesian cow and 15 litres from a jersey cow. Average price per litre of milk is sh800.
“I have customers who travel about 3km to pick milk from my farm. I put a lot of emphasis on quality. I do not allow workers to add water to the milk. I ensure quality and quantity by encouraging my customers to give me feedback on the quality and quantity of milk they receive.â€
Giving cows the right feed is the key to effective maintenance of dairy cows. “I always make sure I offer the animals the best feeds.
Elephant grass fodder is the basic forage for the cows and goats, but I always make sure there is hay for emergency,†she explains. Milk yield largely depends on the genetic potential of the cow, the feeds and feed management system and disease control. I keep animals that give high milk yield to enable me recover the cost of production.
Many people do not believe they can effectively keep five cows under zero grazing, feeding them on specially prepared grass. Kabirizi does it effectively.
“I make my own hay. I make my dairy meal which comprises maize bran, cotton seed cake, calliandra leaf hay, mineral powder and poultry litter.
To run a zero grazing farm, you need food peelings and left-overs. To manage this, Dr. Kabirizi buys left-over food from various sources. “I buy crop residues and banana peelings such as maize-stover from farmers and brewers’ mash from the breweries.â€
One tonne of brewers’ mash is supplied every month at sh50,000. This lasts for a month. To prevent it from rotting, it is covered with a polythene sheet and kept airtight. Banana peelings and brewer’s mash are offered as supplements (less 10kg of mash and less than a bag of banana peels for all the cows). The animals follow a very strict diet.
Although she is a senior civil servant, earnings from the enterprise have positively supplemented her income. I have been able to educate my children. I have three children and they are all graduates of Makerere University and working,†she says.
She also gives two litres of milk everyday to two orphans whose mothers died during childbirth. “I am happy to see these orphans alive today.â€
Dr. Kabirizi’s farm is a model farm. Visitors come from all over the country, to learn how to keep cows in a small space. Among those who visit are high ranking government officials and top city businessmen who are turning to agriculture.
She does not charge any fee for her training. She says the best day to visit her farm is Saturday.
“I train farmer groups and individual farmers at home during weekends. She has been invited by President Yoweri Museveni to visit his farm in Kisozi.
“Because of land shortage, all my animals are kept under a zero grazing production system. I make sure the place is always clean and disinfected.
Some of the manure is transported to the elephant grass and banana plantation fields and some of it is sold or given to other farmers. “I am also working on how to use manure to make poultry feeds.â€
“Control diseases by ensuring regular vaccination,†Kabirizi says.
Making nutrient feed blocks for sale to farmers
Nutrient feed block (NFB) technology is an innovative approach for supplying the necessary nutrients (protein, energy, vitamins and micro and macro minerals) to ruminants to take maximum advantage of poor quality forages, and crop residue. The blocks consist of locally available agro-industrial by-products like maize, rice or wheat bran, cotton seed cake, mineral powder and molasses.
They also consist of conserved forage like grass and fodder tree forage legume, leaf hay and farm waste like poultry litter, feed refusals and crop by-products.
Use of NFB is a convenient and inexpensive method of providing a range of supplementary nutrients suitable for the Ugandan commercial and peasantry animal husbandry.
Use of NFB as a strategic ruminant supplement is one of the nutritional strategies to reduce methane gas, an end product of nutrient fermentation in the rumen that is responsible for global warming. Using farm waste to make nutrient blocks clearly enhances environmental protection.
“We are very grateful to Prof. Kwesiga, the executive director of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Nakawa, who donated equipment that we use to make the blocks,†Kabirizi says. Each block, that weighs 4kg is sold at sh2,000.
Recent policy trends favour private sector participation in the delivery of services to farmers. Economic returns to feeding silage and or hay and nutrient feed blocks in the dry season justify investment in silage, hay and block production as a commercial service delivery by the private sector research institute.
Challenges
Feed shortage during the dry season is a major constraint in all small-holder dairy cattle and goat production systems. There is a need for the Government to provide funds to research institutes to commercialise hay and nutrient mineral blocks production.
Many farmers in urban areas want to keep animals, but lack land to plant pasture. One can maintain an animal on grass hay and crop residue but supplements like protein and energy sources such as calliandra leaf hay and nutrient block must be available.
High cost of inputs
Many farmers have given up farming because of the high cost of inputs. Recently, the price of maize bran increased from sh350 to sh500 per kilogramme. The high cost of fuel has increased the cost of production of milk.
Sub-standard inputs
Some feed millers have developed a habit of mixing maize bran with sand or saw dust. A farmer recently lost her cow when she offered maize bran mixed with saw dust containing nails.
One has to be very careful with the source of inputs.
Expensive artificial insemination
The cost of insemination is high. Some technicians charge over 50,000 per insemination. Sometimes it is difficult to get an inseminator to inseminate the cow at the right time.
Fact file
Name: Dr. Jolly Kabirizi
Farm: Kyakuwa farm
Location of farm: Seguku, off Entebbe Road
Farm size: 10 decimals
Enterprises: 7 dairy cows, 23 goats and banana plantation. Trains groups and individual farmers
When the farm was established:1990 with one cow donated by the Heifer Project for Women Farmers in Mpigi
Turn over: Sells 80 litres of milk per day. Sells two cows at sh800,000 to sh1m per year
How she markets her products: Buyers visit the farm. Encourages feedback from buyers
Contacts: 0777912716/0772434937