HOW TO GIVE POVERTY A BLOW THROUGH FARMING

HOW TO GIVE POVERTY A BLOW THROUGH FARMING

Written by Robert Bake Tumuhaise

I dare say: Poverty is a curse. I grew up among people who somehow normalized poverty and made it look like a blessing. I thought that poverty was humility. I thought that a poor person had more chances of going to heaven than a wealthy guy. Until I saw wealthy people funding crusades, sponsoring ministry, building hospitals for the poor, while poor people sat back complaining and cursing God asking “Why me?” In fact I found that it’s hard for a materially poor person to go to heaven. I now know that there are two kinds of poverty – the poverty of choice and the poverty of lack. Mother Teresa and St Francis of Assizi had a lot of resources but they stripped themselves of all materialism in order to serve humanity. That’s poverty of choice – it’s a blessing to God and humanity. It’s actually wealth in terms of love and sacrifice. Mother Teresa’s impact on humanity is more than that of most billionaires. The poverty of choice is different from the poverty of lack; where a home eats meat only on Christmas; where your child is always the first to be sent home for school fees.

My friend AMOS WEKESA the tourism mogul confesses that one of the reasons he has worked extremely hard and prospered is because he was originally too poor that he ended up hating poverty with passion. Those of you who follow him you know his stories of stealing sugar and walking for a long distance to fluke a wedding in order to eat meet. He got holy anger and turned it into action. Today, I do not know any Ugandan who is more successful in the field of tourism than Wekesa. And he doesn’t stop at tourism; he’s also earning big from properties. The same with my other friend LIVINGSTON MUKASA, the inspirational giant behind Clean Consult, Mulyazawo Bus Services, Mazima Retirement Plan and the book INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE. He grew up in the slums of Katwe and that made him hate poverty with all his might. Today, he’s not only prosperous; he’s also helping thousands of Ugandans also enter the realm of prosperity.

I too have had a fare share of poverty. Mine may not have been absolute poverty because I was born in a home where there was enough food, school fees and other necessities. But I studied most of my primary school barefooted. After university, I took on a job where I earned UGX 80,000 per month. I spent some good time in Kampala walking with no transport and no lunch. I recall those days when a nice meal meant that someone has taken me out or I’ve visited a relative. I know what it means to walk and your throat gets too dry and you need a glass of water but you can’t have it because you have no money in the pocket. I know what it means to put on the same shoe till its soles are off and water soaks your feet, making noise as you walk. I know what it means to have a friend or relative dying in hospital and you can’t even buy him/her juice. I know what it means to hide from people because there’s absolutely no help you can offer them. If you are going through such a condition, don’t feel pity for yourself because it’s not unique to you; I went through that. Just develop holy anger like me, like Wekesa, like Mukasa and determine to put a long distance between you and poverty.

Today, the government of Uganda has, in its Vision 40, a target of transforming Uganda into a middle-income economy. Well, in my view, there’s one way to kickstart that process. That’s promoting modern farming. There’s no way a middle-income economic status can be achieved when most of the working class is still spending over 75% of their income on food. That’s working for the stomach. Mukasa calls it a food war. It’s survival. That’s subsistence. You hear people saying “Nalya ki” (“What will I eat) if I don’t work today? That state of mind cannot promote investment, employment, export and industrialization which are needed for economic development. That’s why I am now an ardent promoter of modern farming. If just half of the Ugandan population can practice modern farming, even if for only production of food for their households, there would be much money saved. That money can be invested in what’s productive. And of course, after seeing how farming gives them food and peace (you know how much stresses hunger causes), some of them would be encouraged to produce more food for sale. And that would end up being commercial farming which would usher in an era of massive production, aggroprocessing and export. Judging from the quantities of products exported to Uganda, I used to think China is full of giant factories everywhere until I went there. What they have are mainly small scale cottage industries that are home-based. But when each household produces and they combine their output, they export in massive amounts.

Today, the real estate sector has collapsed. These malls and arcades you see in town are empty from 3^rd floor upwards. If you hoped to put your money into rentals, do so only for a cashfow but not profit. Do you know that to buy a plot of land in Kampala and build a house where you can earn rent of UGX 1m per month you need to invest at least 300m? And how long does it take you to recover that? 300 months! You are talking in about 30 years! Leave alone the costs of renovation and losses when tenants ‘disappear’ without paying. Yet, when you leave that money on the bank account and fix it, with a good interest rate, it can double in 15 years. That means the real estate business is down at the moment. When you read American books they will tell you that to get wealthy, invest in assets (buildings) and shares. Well, in our Ugandan context, I am telling you, to grow wealthy, invest in farming. Research has shown that there are two industries ruling the world – that’s food and technology. You want to succeed, tap into at least one of them. I am already tapping into both.

Let’s divert a little from traditional farming and talk about growing of trees. Some people say, “I don’t have time to supervise animals and growing of crops. Growing trees could be your solution. Trees do not require regular supervision, except when they are still too young. When you grow a tree, it may take 10 years, but after that, for a good specie, you can earn between UGX 700,000 and 1.4m from it (for instance if you sell it to those making electric poles or any other heavy construction work). I have a friend who has close to 10,000 trees and another who has over 300,000 trees each (calculate the billions; the figures of their wealth might not even fit on your calculator). I have invited both to come and share their insights with you at the Authors’ Forum – a magogomus inspirational event that WORLD OF INSPIRATION has organized on Wednesday 7^th December, 6-9pm, at Hotel Africans. We shall crown the year with swagger as we declare an #EndToPoverty, #EndToFamine, #End ToDebt through embracing modern farming.

Those who attended the last episode of the Authors’ forum your minds must still be blown. We hosted ROBINAH SSEMITALA, a Ugandan poultry farmer who started with 700 chicken 10 years ago and has grown to the level where she now has 40,000 chicken! If you do your calculation well, you will realise that she is no longer in millions of shillings but billions. What she shared at the forum was mind-blowing and she is coming back on 7^th Dec! We also had, SSALONGO WASHINGTON MUGERWA and DR EMMA NALUYIMA, a couple that’s doing wonders using only one acre of land. On that acre, they produce over 700 piglets a year, over 35 bunches of matooke a month, they keep 10,000 fish, rear chicken, keep cattle and grow maize, fruits, tubers, herbs and several other crops. What they practice is what’s referred to as organic integrated farming. They do so many things on a small piece of land, all in a system, using locally designed technology (the details of what they do is in the book MILLIONAIRE FARMER which I will later tell you about). With their approach you can even earn money from farming when all the land you have is your compound and verandah. This couple will also be back for the 7^th Dec Authors’ Forum! Those who were present, you also heard the tantalizing wisdom of WYCLIFF NATWEETA, one of the top managers of Housing Finance Bank. He too will be present to throw light on the aspect of funding commercial farming projects and of course also share more about his own farming experience (he rears hundreds of local chicken).

For those getting to know about this forum for the first time, on 7^th December, we shall be having PART II of the theme: EARNING BIG FROM FARMING. Don’t worry about what you missed last time; it was all caught on camera and on that day a DVD will be available at UGX 15,000. Remember the venue is Hotel African and the time 6pm to 9pm. Last time, the panel could not exhaust all they had for us. We still needed to know more about how to start a farming project, issues of how much capital is needed and how to raise it, how to prioritize activities, record-keeping in farming, how to recruit, train and supervise workers, how to get the best seeds and parent animal genetics, how to deal with disease and pests, how to make organic manure from urine and fish pond water, how to employ technology to maximize output, how to benefit from farm waste e.g. by making biogas the way Washington and Naluyima are doing, how to get the best market for one’s produce and much more. All these issues and much more will be discussed at on 7^th December. So planning to miss is simply committing inspirational suicide.

The Authors’ Forum event is open to the public as long as you can secure your entry ticket before they run out (we have less than 50 left). A ticket goes for UGX 40,000. However, today, we are running a promotion where we give you 3 tickets at the amount of 2 tickets (meaning you pay only UGX 80,000 but get 3 tickets worth 120,000). For tickets, visit WORLD OF INSPIRATION centre at LLOYDS MALL, Ground Floor, that’s Entebbe Road, Opposite Kamu Kamu Plaza or call me (Bake Robert 0779911844 / 0704666851) or Winnie (0774107287 / 0700714369) for delivery. Delivery of tickets (or any other products we offer such as books) is free, so if you are busy, instead of waiting and you lose out on the opportunity, call and we find you where you are. You can also use those phone numbers to order for a copy of the book MILLIONAIRE FARMER which captures the story, ideas and discoveries of Dr Emma Naluyima that will totally transform your mind and equip you to make money out of modern farming. It goes for only UGX 30,000. #DoItNow

I wish you the best. I love you and I pray for you.

#LoveLotsBake

#YouAreAChampion

#SuccessIsYourBirthRight