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In the last five years, I have been in Luweero District and Kikyusa Sub-county in particular with interest and determination to learn as a farmer what one can do to make farming an enjoyable, highly paying, life long time, sustainable job, not only for me as an individual but for the poor grass root men and women farmers who form nearly 90% of our society. I found out that unless a number of key challenges have been addressed there is no way prosperity and sustainable development through agriculture can be achieved at grass root level.

The main challenges identified include: -
Choosing the right crop for the right area.
Knowing the right time to plant and the right time to harvest.
Planting rightly using professional know how and guidelines.
Budgeting and work plan-having sufficient working capital for various activities at the right time.
Having adequate cost effective labour and implements.
Gathering information on weather patterns, soils, inputs and data keeping.
Market intelligence
Team work or group farming.
Large scale production for local and foreign markets.
Value addition to our products and elimination of middlemen.

In order to address these challenges, I have been interacting with various local farmers, and agricultural experts with a view to share our experiences so as to come out with solutions towards our common enemy POVERTY. We resolved that we must unite and work as a group in order to effectively bring about sustainable socio-economic advancement hence the formation of our association known as GREEN MONEY FARMERS ASSOCIATION. True Together We Can. In order to achieve our goals we have set objectives and designed a ten year investment plan which will be implemented in two phases. Phase I started in 2008 up to 2011 and Phase II will start in 2012 2016.

Phase I activities include mobilization, sensitization and training of farmers through organized workshops and tours to other farmer groups inside and outside the District. This programme was warmly embraced by many local farmers now totaling to over 110 members (outgrowers). We are now re-organizing the outgrowers by giving them incentives like subsidized planting materials on credit which has helped to increase on planted acreage from 75 acres in 2008 to 151 acres of pineapples in 2009. Whereas on the other hand the Associations group farm stock has increased 9 times from the initial 5 acres in 2008 to 45 acres of pineapples in 2009 at three different sites of Kiwamirembe (20 acres), Bwaba (5 acres) and Kyekumbya (20 acres).

In the year 2010 we intend to encourage and support our outgrowers to double their acreage to a level of 300 acres, while the Association plan is to open a new site of 200 acres thus increasing the total to 245 acres.

In general we forecast an estimated production both from our outgrowers and our own farms to a tune of 545 acres by end of 2011 which will form a basis for the start of phase II in 2012. Again in the year 2010 more emphasis will be put on capacity building by training our Staff and Farmers on Project Planning, Financial Management and Record Keeping so that we are able to handle increased business challenges with a sense of professionalism and global compliancy. The year 2010 is going to be a year of value addition by targeting various institutions, organizations, and international companies which can be our partners in realizing our objective No.5 of our Constitution (establishment of small scale industries for value addition with a view of export market).

We look forward with great courage, enthusiasm, and determination towards a better future.

Thank you.


JANS BYARUHANGA
CHAIRMAN (FOUNDER MEMBER)

TITLE :PINEAPPLE PRODUCTION &
PROCESSING INDUSTRIES


LOCATION:LUWEERO DISTRICT KIKYUSA
SUB-COUNTY


CONTACT PERSON:JANS BYARUHANGA
MOB: 0775 995 127
Email: greenmoneyfas@gmail.com wosidam@gmail.com