Tom Okurut Vegetable farmer

By the Indepenent Team

Growing vegetables is a business that anyone with a passion in farming can start and make money within a short while.  Tom Okurut started growing vegetables in a sack at his house because he had limited land. It would also be easy to manage.  “If you have limited land to do commercial gardening, starting a sack gardening is the best option for you. It does not require much space and it’s a suitable gardening business in urban places,” says Okurut.

However as returns from the business started to come in, Okurut took on expansion through leasing an acre of land at Matugga-Wakiso District. He grows cabbages, leafy onions, red amaranth (locally known as ebbuga) and grain amaranth (dodo). Most of the vegetables have a maturity period of between 60 and 90 days, which gives the entrepreneur an opportunity to make money more than twice a year.  In the dry season, Okurut irrigates the vegetables, which enables him to get more money given the times of scarcity. From the one acre piece of land, he makes not less than Shs 1 million per season.

Success tips; start small and gain experience over time

Okurut urges beginning farmers to start small and to allow time for learning how to deal with problems that will inevitably arise from a bigger farm. He also says that most of the vegetables are prone to pests such as grasshoppers, mites and caterpillars. This necessitates constant monitoring, applying water and spraying.