Kasirye Gwanga the Farmer

Source from:  New Vision (Kampala) Joshua Kato 04/30/2005

IN blue jean trousers, a yellow T-shirt, a blue base ball cap and white sneakers, a sharp lipo pang and a crocodile hoe, Brigadier Kasirye Gwanga looks every inch like a farmer. Indeed, this is what he has been waiting for through the years even while still in the army. "I was retired on a Monday and I came here on Tuesday," he says. His vast farm is well planned. "I have several farms around the central region," he says. One of his farms is at Kisoga in Mukono district. Another is in Mubende district, his homeland. He also served as LC5 chairman there. "When I told people to go out and work in their gardens instead of spending most of their time shouting politics, little did they know I was engaged in the same business," he says. This is a multi-million farm. It is over 200 acres. It has vanilla, tomatoes, passion fruits, yams, bananas, tobacco, trees for timber and wood. It also has coffee, jackfruit, avocado, cabbages, goats, chicken and cattle. He produces some of the best vanilla in Mukono district. "I seriously mind about the quality of my products. I am a perfectionist, which is why I strive to produce the best," he says. Cabbages cover over three acres of the entire farm. He expects to harvest at least 10,000 cabbages from the first season this year. Each costs sh300-sh500. "I produce organic tomatoes. I don't use any chemicals on the tomatoes because they are sometimes not good for the human body," he says. After harvesting, his produce are parked in sacks and collected for transportation to the markets. "I make millions of shillings every month from this farm," he boasts. Early last year, even when the country was experiencing a dry spell, Kasirye's crops were blossoming. This, Kasirye says was because he maintained adequate tree cover for the entire farm. "Trees reduce the impact of the sun on the ground. This is what most farmers should do," he says." The banana plantation and the other shambas are well mulched. This certainly preserves water in the ground. He also plans to establish an irrigation scheme on his shamba. Although he employs several people to look after the farm, he says his supervision is very crucial. "Any good farmer should be familiar with what goes on around his farm," he says. He talks to the birds and animals on the farm like they have been friends for a long time. As he stands among over 30 head of cattle, he seems to strike a resonance with them. Not only does he get along with domestic animals but also wild ones. Wild fowls pick insects nearby as he moves around the cabbage shamba. They do not fly away even as we approach them. "They know me. I tamed them," he says. He adds, "My plan is to have all animals on my farm in future. I already have antelopes and bush bucks. There is also a leopard," he says. Still alluding to how people can use nature to mint cash, he boasts, "I maintain over 30 ant-hills from which I harvest more than 15 sacks of ants every season." On the open market, each of the sacks goes for as high as sh100,000. Kasirye does not reveal the monetary value of his farm. He simply says it is an expensive venture, whose value surpasses that of most so-called big companies in the city. He says he cannot exchange his 200 acres for anything. For starters, an acre of land costs sh2m in this side of Mukono district. "I am so happy every time I come to work on my farm. There is no substitute for this kind of wealth," he says. Kasirye has good ideas for developing the agriculture sector. "I have been telling people that agriculture can be beneficial if they work hard," he says. "Government should provide the necessary tools. I don't think that depending on the hoe and panga can take the sector anywhere. I have hopes in the ministry of agriculture," he says. In Mubende, he started the tractor for hire scheme. "It worked very well. Farmers hired the tractor at a small fee and cultivated their land in a short time. That is the way to go," he adds. Enditem