Prime
Small space, big harvest
Mature cocks inside their cages at Eric Kayigamba’s (Inset) farm in Rubaga, Kampala. Photo by John Batanudde
Agriculture is arguably Uganda’s most important industry. With the increasing population, growing crops and raising livestock for food is as important as ever.
Trying to meet the demands of bulging markets is a huge challenge for many farmers.
But Eric Kayigamba has found a solution in forming a cooperative as a possible solution.
His farm is very unusual and could change your definition of farming. Kayigamba, uses a 50X80 feet plot to keep rabbits, chicken, grow mushrooms and keep fish as well as run his demonstrations and a products shop.
Too small a space? Not to Kayigamba. To this unique farmer, thinking vertically is the solution.
Kayigamba, a 40-year-old agriculture investor based at Lusaze, Sentema road just after the cemetery in Rubaga division in Kampala, is the director of Modern Agriculture Solution, a company that has empowered farmers in high quality farming utilising small spaces.
It also specialises in value addition by processing farm products into high quality products.
Kayigamba, who owns this miniature yet highly productive farm, wanted to be a civil engineer, a childhood dream he never reached.
Power of numbers
His passion for sharing has sprouted into Saturday classes where he invites farmers at his farm to learn about modern farming techniques.
This is the whole idea behind what is now Modern Agricultural Solutions, a cooperative that has 230 members.
He has especially curated the way rabbits are kept and mastered the art of value addition. He also teaches farmers how to make their own feeds for maximum benefits.
“In farming, every cent counts and should be put to proper use,” he advises.
Rabbits are his trophy
In Uganda, the rise in numbers of expat workers especially the Chinese and the increasing demand for white meat is pushing the demand for rabbits high.
Rabbit meat is gaining a place on menus for its immense values including being the best white meat available with a high percentage of easily digestible protein. Their cholesterol free meat is also recommended for heart patients.
Best of all, rabbits are very easy to raise as they require little capital, space as well as a short gestation period.
Kayigamba stocks three rabbit breeds; California, Swaziland and New Zealand White which he says are good for business.
His top customers include foreign nationals living in Uganda, Pope Paul Memorial Hotel in Rubaga and Nanjing Hotel.
“I cannot take up more orders because the supply is limited,” he said saying that’s the reason why he opted to make his business a cooperative.
To maximize space, he built his animal houses vertically with a rabbit cage of 70X70cms.
He does not want to lose anything as he harvests the droppings and urine. The droppings, he says, are used to breed maggots that are given to fish and chicken because they decompose so fast yet the urine is good especially in banana plantations.
The family man who has a wife and three children says he is now able to save up to Shs5m monthly. The business provides money to feed his family and pay school fees for his children who attend good private schools.
Value addition
To tap into the full benefits of his sweat, he advises value addition. He hygienically packages his rabbit meat before he sends it to his clients. Yet there is more to this. Out of his mushrooms he gets other products including; porridge, sun dried mushroom, curry powder, coffee, wine and juice.
Future plans
He has acquired an eight acre piece of land in Luwero District and two acres in Nakaseke District where he is planning to establish a much larger farm that will have a piggery, hatchery and a rabbit farm. The farm will also have a bigger hall that will be fitted with modern equipment.
Rough start
Before training, Kayigamba had interest in agriculture, but he had no knowledge of how to start.
“Growing up in a peasant family, farming was a way of life, and the only way we knew,” he recalls.
So when he completed the course, he returned to his parents’ home in Mityana in 2012, to share his knowledge with the community.
As a young farmer, Kayigamba did not have enough capital yet he was pregnant with farming ideas he had accumulated while in China.
During this time, he could neither rent space nor buy enough inputs to start. He started growing mushrooms in 20 by 20ft space using greenhouse techniques until 2010 when he got a Shs2m loan from Pride Bank to get started.
The loan he acquired was repaid in one year and he had got the wings to fly on his own.
“I cannot walk into the bank again for a loan because I managed to use my money effectively,” he says.
Today, he does not only produce mushrooms but also rears rabbits, kuroiler chicken, cat fish and pigs for sale.
