Thursday, July 16, 2009

Progress in Agriculture

We're making some headway on the agricultural projects. The piggery and poultry buildings are almost complete (though construction is taking longer than expected) and we've gotten in touch with some pig suppliers. Next week we will be taking our veterinarian to visit a piggery project in Luwero. If the piglets available for sale get a clean bill of health, we will purchase 30-40 piglets and transport them back to Busia. If we aren't satisfied with the quality of the piglets in Luwero, we will head to another piggery project in Kumi that was recommended to us.

We will be placing an order for 500 chicks tomorrow--they should arrive in a couple weeks.

We're still researching options for purchasing cattle. We still have a couple months before we can actually move in the cows since we have to wait for our grass (cow-feed) to grow.

We've secured approximately 10 acres of land for the sweet potato farm and we've started preparing it for the coming rains. Our target is 15 acres, but we have to move quickly since the rains are coming. It's key to have the land fully prepared (cleared and plowed) when the rainy season begins. Once the rains come, we will plant immediately to maximize the harvest. This is easier said than done since the rains in recent seasons have been erratic at best. Timing is key and very difficult to do well.

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