Byamugisha at his nursery bed, where he has prepared seedlings for transplanting, Images by Sharon Muzaki
William Byamugisha is a 56-year-old farmer who hails from Nombe ward, Rubugiri town council in Kisoro district, and lives together with his 45-year-old wife Marinate Juliet, they have 9 children and 6 grandchildren. The family’s livelihood depends on farming and it is always difficult to meet the needs of the family without family farming.
These two small-scale farmers narrate their journey of transforming to better farming methods and their remarkable journey as successful farmers is not only improving their family’s livelihoods but also inspiring the entire community.
As a family among other community members that have been part of the Vanishing Treasures project being implemented by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a project designed to respond to human-wildlife conflict, promote alternative livelihoods, and mitigate the impacts caused by climate change and socio-economic pressures has supported the community’s livelihood, food security, and climate-smart agriculture but most importantly mentored farmers’ transition to organic farming.
Byamugisha’s family collected information about the requirements, the potential, and the main practices related to conversion to organic farming, and started to learn from their own experience on their farms. Since then they have been able to minimise risks of crop failure and losses of animals and avoid frustrating overload.
This family has been equipped with knowledge and skills in sustainable crop planting, forestry, and animal husbandry. They have chosen to engage in multiple enterprises, including beans, maize, peas, potatoes, poultry, piggery, and bananas. Byamugisha’s farming methods involve intercropping, allowing for a harmonious combination of crops that enhance soil health and optimise production.
“I practice mixed farming by intercropping various crops on my land. I skillfully interplant cassava and maize, taking advantage of their compatibility. While peas and maize are seasonal crops, they thrive alongside cassava, which provides a longer harvest period. The peas and beans contribute to soil nitrogen fixation, improving soil conditions and benefiting all the nearby crops,” Byamugisha highlights. Additionally, he strategically incorporates short-term crops like beans into his rotation, as they serve as a cover crop and further enhance soil fertility.
In addition to crop production, Byamugisha’s family maintains a diverse array of livestock and a few chickens. The focus here lies in utilising the animals’ manure to sustain soil fertility in his garden. By leveraging the organic benefits of animal manure, he ensures a sustainable method of production while maintaining the health of his perennial enterprises.
“We can make organic manure and grow more food and vegetables. Previously we would not produce a big batch of bananas but now, we can go to the garden and find a big batch of bananas that we can sell. Also, we would go to buy vegetables from the market but now we can grow them in our home gardens. The money we would have used to buy food, we now use that money to pay school fees for the children,” the 56-year-old narrates
“Today we are careful when we are planting banana stems before we would only dig a small hole that would cover only the roots but now we dig a bigger hole of 3ft around, put manure and soil so that the sack has enough feed from the soil and be strong as well,” William Byamugisha
“Today we are careful when we are planting banana stems before we would only dig a small hole that would cover only the roots but now we dig a bigger hole of 3ft around, put manure and soil so that the sack has enough feed from the soil and be strong as well,” he adds
Furthermore, he has utilized his compound for backyard gardening, cultivating vegetables such as leafy cabbage, spinach, onions, tomatoes, and black nightshade vegetables. This initiative not only improves family nutrition but also generates daily income, given the proximity of his location to a trading centre where fresh produce is in demand.
“We would go to buy vegetables from the market but now we can grow them in our home gardens,” Byamugisha
Practicing new farming methods like the construction of terraces and soil bunds along the curves of hills is a key measure for soil conservation. “Making terraces in our gardens has helped us so much since we could find our crops washed away during rains,” his 45-year-old wife Marinate says. This practice builds the foundation for further improvement of soil fertility on slopes. It is of high relevance but requires much labour and some specific knowledge for appropriate implementation.
According to the Project Assistant, Vanishing Treasures project, Mr. Kenneth Kabebasiza explains that while concrete climate-smart approaches have been piloted, such as developing green infrastructure solutions, including buffer zone management, while at the same time increasing agricultural productivity or providing alternative forms of income.
The use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers by these farmers in the community has had negative impacts on soils, crops, organisms, and the environment. Recent studies show most pesticides kill bees yet bees are key to crop productivity “Bees pollinate crops and with no pollination, no crop productivity,” Kenneth Kabebasiza explains
He further explained that while conducting a review of the buffer zone management plan, and during this review that’s when such issues came up, especially the chemicals used in the tea plantations.
“Artificial herbicides kill microorganisms in the soils that are responsible for soil nutrients hence low soil productivity. That’s our reason arising from concerns from the community,” he added
Most importantly, Byamugisha has adopted an innovative approach to ectoparasite control in his livestock, and crops utilizing homemade pesticides from local materials like red pepper, and marigold garlic. This organic solution for managing external pests has not only helped William but has also benefited other farmers in the community. “We make our pesticides from local plants especially smelly plants since they are insect repellants.”
Silvern Seburiguri the Agricultural Officer of Rubuguri Town Council admits that as an office of production, they train farmers in modern technologies of how to make manure using local materials for example urine of animals and humans to make liquid manure, compost pits to make compost manure and other things like animal droppings as well as kitchen leftovers.
According to the Agricultural Officer, organic farming has improved soil fertility and soil structure in his area of operation which was degraded by the use of chemical fertilizers. In that case, there is an increase in soil humus through the use of organic farming therefore increasing crop yields.
He calls upon the government to provide a policy that supports organic agriculture by encouraging farmers to keep livestock for manure and also dig compost pits for compost manure so that farmers have a sustainable supply of pure uncontaminated manure. “Also for the health of human beings, organic farming prevents cancers that are associated with the use of chemical fertilizers,” Seburiguri insists
Byamugisha highlights that his family has learned over time to protect the environment, manage their farms, make manure, collect firewood, and use the environment sustainably by making eco stoves since wood is depreciating in numbers and these stoves only use a few blocks of wood to make fire.
“I have a forest where I get timber and fetch firewood from. Previously there was a lot of deforestation where there was a lot of dryness and scorching sun that we could not cultivate enough crops but, ever since we stopped cutting down trees and replanting, we have seen a lot of change,” the small-scale farmer admits
Thereby the income of the family has tremendously improved. He therefore wishes that his success story becomes an inspiration for the entire community, motivating them to pursue meaningful agricultural production despite limited land resources.
The farmer is practicing livestock rearing and using the manure for compost
“Some farmers may be good at making compost, some at growing green manures, and some at making plant or manure tea. Learning from experienced farmers allows one to get first-hand experience under local conditions, and thus to learn about the advantages and potential challenges related to implementing organic methods,” Byamugisha calls upon all farmers who are interested in adopting organic farming practices to get in contact with farmers in the area, who already practice organic farming to learn from them.
The state of organic farming in Uganda
According to the National Organic Agriculture Policy;
Agriculture has been and continues to be the most important sector in Uganda’s economy in terms of food and nutritional security, employment, income, raw materials for industry, and exports to regional and international markets.
Globally, Uganda is believed to be one of the organic countries. There are 58 million hectares under Organic Agriculture and Uganda has only 262,282Ha. In Africa, Uganda is second to Tanzania with 268,729 ha of organic agricultural land (World of Organic Agriculture Report 2018).
Worldwide, in terms of the number of organic farms, Uganda occupies the fourth position after Italy, Indonesia, and Mexico. With 210,352 certified farmers, producing 115,062 tons of organic produce, Uganda is one of the countries with the highest comparative advantage for organic production in Africa.
AGROECOLOGY;The state of Organic Farming in Uganda
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