FROM STREAM TO RIVER
Nankwanga Salimat is a member of CELAC group from Bugodi village, Baitambogwe Sub-county in Mayuge district. She is now well known as one of the most successful and progressive farmer of ground nuts in the area. By dint of perseverance hard working, intelligent farm planning and management, ably supported by trainings, study tours out side the district and assistance received from CELAC, she has attained this status.
Nankwanga says “I joined a CELAC group in 2006 which had 26 members; before I joined, my farm activities were so indigenous …… I used to do things the way I thought was right yet not. I used to plant ground nuts wherever I knew they would grow and at any spacing, and I could only do the weeding when they have started flowering. I also had a feeling that if some body passed across the garden of ground nuts it stunts thinking that the stunting was caused by bewitching.”
“I have not looked back since that time…….. step – by – step I have moved to success…… before I could harvest less two sucks of shelled ground nuts out of an acre. At the moment, I plant the same acre but my harvest is above 10 sucks of shelled ground nuts. I used do the harvesting alone in the garden but now I call on my group members to come and help me do the harvesting” Nankwanga gives her testimony
“my life has changed and I really say there is no loss in agriculture…… buyers come to me at the start of the new season to buy seeds and the money I get I afford buying clothes for my self, buy scholastic materials for my children…… and other things that may require at home. Our family income has increased” she tells
The framers under CELAC accord their success to the trainings which they get from their trainer …….. “We have learned a lot about crop and animal handling and whenever we follow the pieces advise and knowledge we get from the trainings, our harvests are always positive” groups members said.
“I call on my fellow farmers to stop the indigenous way of farming and adopt the new methods of farming for bigger harvests” says Nankwanga
By:
Joseph Mulopi
Good story but needs to be edited well!