After trying out different farming ventures without too much success, John Katabira decided he would only keep trying.
The resident of Nakisunga in Mukono had launched himself into farming by constructing a pond with big dreams to breed fish in a swamp close to his home. Things never quite went according to plan as he lost all his fish through a severe and abrupt disease attack.
Although many people in his position would be much less enthusiastic about carrying on with investment in farming, John was unmoved.
How he got into cassava growing
When in 2011, John met his friend Kazibwe a foods trader in Nakasero market, he told him there was a good market for cassava—but there was a caution; it would work best if he was growing it on considerable scale.
“The start was bumpy. At first I had to buy cassava from the village farmers but sometime after realising a good market I cleared my one acre piece of land and invested in about Shs400,000 to come up with my own cassava farm,” he said.
After only seven months John said he was able to harvest more than 15 sacks of cassava. He then topped those up with more cassava he had bought from the village farmers to make it 40 sacks.
“I bought every sack at Shs40,000 and sold it at Shs70,000. Although I was making decent profit even before I engaged in growing myself, this time round I registered higher profits of about Shs1.5m,” he explained.
John told us that he finds challenges with weeding, high transport costs as well as problems of cassava mosaic, but he is only looking to expand his cassava farm.
QUICK TIPS ON GROWING CASSAVA
Cassava requires at least eight months of warm weather. The plant prefers well-drained soil and modest rainfall, but it can survive where soils are wet. Cassava grows best where there’s adequate sun.