Summary:
- Vice President Major (Rtd) Jessica Rose Alupo, while endorsing the presidential initiative to the people of Teso, emphasized that the region’s fertile land holds the potential to transform the economic status of local households.
KATAKWI: Farmers in the Teso region have been urged to embrace and effectively utilize the vast available land to develop a four-acre model farm, as advocated by His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, to generate wealth.
Richard Yankana, a model farmer at Kana Farm Rwenguju with a one-acre farm in Rwengojo Village, Senganyu Parish, Fort Portal City, has encouraged Ugandan farmers to implement the presidential initiative of a four-acre model to create wealth.
During a six-day presidential tour of 70 journalists from Karamoja and Teso regions, which was sponsored by President Museveni, Yankana challenged farmers in Teso, Karamoja, Bukedi, and other areas to apply this presidential strategy as it promises economic growth and improved lifestyles.
According to Yankana, regions like Karamoja and Teso have more land available than Fort Portal. He pointed out that in his village of 245 households, 90% have at least a quarter-acre or half-acre of land, 70% have 2-4 gardens, 2% have 4-5 gardens, and 1% have 10 gardens.
Yankana, who owns 1.3 acres of land, uses it for four economic activities: dairy farming, poultry farming, banana cultivation, and a feed processing business. From these, he generates an income of UGX 14,769,000 every month.
On his dairy farm, which houses 10 Friesian cows, Yankana produces 126 liters of milk daily, generating a gross income of UGX 132,000 daily, which totals UGX 2,160,000 per month. In addition, his 10,000 poultry birds lay 120 trays of eggs daily, yielding between UGX 300,000 and UGX 1,200,000 in net profit monthly. His feed processing factory generates UGX 3,000,000 per month, and his agricultural waste processing brings in another UGX 600,000 monthly.
Yankana, who first received the presidential message to embrace the four-acre model while still a student in O-Level, urged farmers to shift their mindset and adopt the four-acre approach to break the cycle of poverty.
Kana Farm Rwenguju has been thriving for over 30 years and currently employs over ten workers in both its machinery and farming operations.
George Kasoisi Rumaari, a farmer from Nyaki Sanga Village in Nyangkigambo Sub-County, Sanga County, Kiruhura District, also shared his success story. Between 1998 and 2000, Kasoisi visited Tanzania in search of pasture, but the government of Tanzania declared him a non-citizen and expelled him. He returned to his land in 2000 and began planting sugar cane, bananas, and mangoes.
Through his four-acre model, Kasoisi now earns $250,000 per mango tree, UGX 22 million per acre, and UGX 44 million annually from his 12-acre fruit farm. He has used his profits to build a hotel and educate his two sons, one of whom is at university and the other at an advanced level, both pursuing agricultural studies.
Vice President Major (Rtd) Jessica Rose Alupo, while endorsing the presidential initiative to the people of Teso, emphasized that the region’s fertile land holds the potential to transform the economic status of local households.
“Let us embrace the presidential plan of the four-acre model to eradicate poverty in this region,” Vice President Alupo added.
