Hoima Farmer making ends meet to excel in both farming and teaching

An early morning drive of a team of Science Journalists heading to Western Uganda on fact finding tour about bio fortified banana research turned out to be fruitful.

After visiting agricultural scientists at Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute MbaZARD at the field site where they are concluding research in improving East African Highland (Matoke) banana rich in Vitamin A, we ended up in a farmer field in Bulindi Hoima district.

The scientists are conducting the research work in four different multi locational sites namely in MbaZARDI, Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Bulindi ZARDI), National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NaRL) Kawanda  and Bugiyanya Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Bugiyanya ZARD).

They have been breeding Nakitembe and M9 (Kiwangazi) banana varieties enriched with Vitamin A.

Since they are doing the research jointly with farmers in these locations, the farmers get the feel of growing the banana varieties once they are released for onward farming.

As such one such a farmer is Johnson Agondezi Ntairaho a resident of Bulindi Kigungu in Hoima district who is a farmer growing assorted agricultural commodities but majoring in growing East African Highland banana for commercialisation and food security for his family.

How it all started

Mr Ntairaho narrates to Seeds of Gold that he is the 4^th born in six children to his parents Ezekiel Ntairaho and Rosette Ntairaho.

From childhood he always loved going to the farm with his parents. He was born in 1974.

However he became a serious farmer after completing his studies with Diploma in Education in 2007 from National Teachers Training College Masindi

He ventured into teaching in private schools but became a teacher at Sir Tito Winyi Secondary School 7 years ago.

He is married and since his wife works at Bulindi ZARDI, he got further interest in venturing into banana growing and began attending sensitization exercises of farmers from the greater Bunyoro regions with the scientists.

Initially the scientists used to sensitize them about following proper agronomy when growing banana as commercial venture.

But in 2020 when Scientists from NaRL planted the bio fortified banana at the Institute, he occasionally would attend the sensitization meetings about the importance of farmers growing banana enhanced with Vitamin A.

Since he is married with six children the first born being in senior four, he was certain that the salary he obtains from teaching would not favour him, the reason he ventured into commercial farming.

He is able to send his children to good schools in Hoima and Masnidi because he earning from his farm as well from his teaching profession.

He is practicing mixed farming where he intercrops beans with banana and once the beans are harvested he plants other crops such as ground nuts which mature faster.

“In 2018 when started growing banana, after previously growing crops such beans, cassava, millet and Maize which I did mainly for home consumption. But when I saw healthy growing banana at Bulindi ZARDI, I decided growing local varieties for commercialization but there is a challenge of yield. Despite practicing best agronomy, I am able to at most harvest a bunch weighing 5kg,” he note.

He adds that after the fourth year the weight of the bunch reduces further and his hope is to get the Vitamin enriched banana to cover the yield gap.

This he thinks is as a result of climate change where there is prolonged drought and erratic rains leading to crop failure.

Another challenge is that there is Black Sigatoka disease in the great Bunyoro region which is causing wilting of banana leaves. His plantation occasionally is affected by the disease as well as bacterial wilt.

There is also a pest called Nematodes which says usually destroys roots of some of his plantation coupled with poor infertile soils.

He usually sources suckers from neighboring farmers growing banana and he replants after every four years.

Appreciating Naro Technology

Mr Ntairaho contends that since he is in the neibourhood of Bulindi ZARDI and having attended a number of farmer field days at the Institute and sensitization meetings, he has appreciated the Cooking Vitamin A banana.

He says he has hope that the improved banana varieties will be released to farmers where he hopes to be a beneficiary.

This he says is because part of what he harvests in his farm is for food security meaning the health of his family members will be catered for.

Secondly his income will be increased since the bunches are good meaning he can be able to sell a bunch weighing 50kg at Shs30,000 or more depending on the market place.

He usually supplies a few hotels directly in Hoima town and apparently hotels attract better selling price.

Banana harvests as source of income

In his two acre banana farm, he is able to harvest 20-30 bunches in a week form newly planted suckers. The plantations that have lasted four years the harvest reduces to between 10 and 15 bunches per week

He sells each bunch between Shs15, 000 – Shs20, 000 depending on the Size of the bunch.

His message to other farmers

His advice to his fellow farmers is that, in case they are concentrating on farming only, they must widen the scope by investing money obtained from into other businesses.

For those who are civil servants, he is encouraging them not only to depend on their meagre salaries but widen the scope by going into farming.

He contends that it is not good for people to under estimate farming of any nature because once a farmer is growing the necessary required crops including banana, there challenge of food security and income earning is solved.

It is not proper for a work to come out of his office and pass through the market to always purchase food instead of getting food from your farm

He cautioned civil servants not go clubbing and forget about farming. Giving example of the Covid -19 lockdown for the whole year he notes that if it was not for farmers concentrating in their farms, food was going to be a challenge in many families.

Ends