Wanda finds a gem in tilling the land

By Andrew Masinde

Deep in the mountain ranges of Elgon, Wamakale Wanda has managed to make a life out of agriculture despite criticism about the alluvial soils in his home area.

Born in 1969 in the rocky areas of Lunganga village in Mbale district, Wanda learnt from his parents that a real Mugisu man works hard and tills the land to make him what he wants to be. Since he had seen his parents succeed in farming, he took the advice and is now making it to the top.

Wanda was given half an acre of land by his father and he remembers his father telling him that since they are many in the family, land was the only resource available to them to make a fortune out.

Wanda took his father’s words serious. He constructed a small house and planted some Arabic coffee on the rest of the land. He, however, remembers people telling him that he was better off planting other crops because Arabic coffee takes long to yield.

How they started

Wanda followed his heart and ignored what people’s comments. He continued planting Arabic coffee and by 2003, Wanda had started reaping from his sweat. His initial harvest yielded only two sacks and when it dried, he got 70kg, with each going for sh2,700. He got sh189,000, which he used to rent two acres of land and buy tomato seeds.

In 2004, he reaped big from the tomatoes and used the money to buy two acres of land, each at sh370,000 on which he planted bananas and cassava. Fortunately, the yields from the banana and cassava plantations have been good and he has managed to acquire seven more acres of land.

Wanda now grows different crops ranging from beans, potatoes, maize to egg-plants.

He argues that growing different crops protects one from losses when the market for one crop falls.

Coffee
With the coffee, Wanda says he selects ripe fruits from plants that have high yields and low or no incidence of pests.
Then he ferments them for one night, washes them clean and dries the parchment slowly in well-aerated shade for two to three days.

He then sorts the seeds to eliminate those that are small or abnormally shaped or are infested with pests.

Thereafter, he spreads the dried seeds on a seed bed then leaves them to germinate. The seeds take three to four months to be ready for transplanting. The seedlings are planted two metres apart to allow good growth of the branches and harvesting.

He adds that he plants the coffee under trees to protect it from the wind.

Wanda says the advantage with Arabic coffee is that it does not require a lot of care. He notes that all it needs is weeding, spraying and pruning once in a while. 

He adds after picking the ripe beans, he then takes them to a machine that removes the husks. He then keeps it indoors to ferment before drying it in the sun.

When dry, he takes it to the coffee stores in town and sometimes he sells it to Kyagalanyi Coffee Factory for sell.
Wanda says it took him four to five years to realise a meaningful harvest.

Tomatoes
Wanda says he also spreads the tomato seeds on a seed bed and fences it off with sticks to prevent them from being eaten by hens and other birds. He sprays them to kill insects and transplants them after a month.

To ensure that they grow well, Wanda says he plants the tomatoes when the soil is cold.

He adds that he sometimes plants tomatoes on their sides because the entire stem that is buried will form roots, giving the plant the best foundation possible and allowing the plant a greater ability to absorb water.

He sets them out about 24 to 36 inches apart to prevent them from competing for nutrients and sunlight.

Wanda says he starts spraying the tomatoes against pests at two weeks and does this every after one week until they reach a time for harvest.

From three acres, Wanda says he harvests over 80 baskets. He adds that he grows the Tengu tomato variety because it yields big tomatoes if well-looked after.

Wanda sells a basket of tomatoes between sh30,000 and sh50,000, depending on the season. In the dry season, he irrigates the tomatoes with the help of his children and wife.

Cassava and matooke
Wanda says he ensures that his cassava and matooke gardens are free from weeds.

To control banana diseases, Wanda uses a particular hoe for each garden to avoid spreading diseases.

Benefits
Wanda has managed to expand from half an acre that his father gave him to over seven acres.

He now pays school fees for his children. He also has a  reliable market for his produce, with some people booking.

Challenges
Like other farmers, Wanda also faces the problem of crop pests and diseases.

He says pesticides are too expensive.

Wanda notes that being deep in the village, the poor road affects him, especially during the rainy season when they become impassable.

Future plans

Wanda wants to buy water pumps and dig channels for irrigation to ease the problem of having to fetch water in jerrycans during the dry season.

He wants to educate all his children up to university level since no one has attained that level in their family.
Wanda also wants to buy a truck to transport his produce to the market because he has discovered that he is cheated when he sells from the farm.

Advice
Wanda advises all the youth who are in towns looking for jobs to embrace agriculture, saying he never went to school but he is making a fortune in farming.

He appeals to the Government to repair roads to make transportation of food stuffs to the market easy.