My name of Okwang Alfred and I am a resident of Ajanet Parish, Abim District. I am 45 years old.
The accident that left him with a disability
I got involved in a motor accident in 2009 on my way to Kotido for business. As I was getting on to a truck, I fell off but the driver did not realise it so he started driving and in the process, he crushed my leg.
Before the accident, I was both a farmer and a businessman. As a farmer, I was dealing in cassava, ground nuts, millet and sorghum. These were on 10 acres. But because of the accident, I was down for five years and during this time, I did not have money to invest in neither my business nor the garden.
Getting back into the farming business
But after sometime, I decided to talk to my family members to start cultivating the land and they have been of great support. I still go to my garden but it is mainly to supervise and advise where necessary.
I currently have a plantation of maize, cassava, millet, sorghum and green grams. However, cassava covers up the biggest part of my plantation; it occupies six acres. I decided to concentrate a lot on growing cassava because the farmer’s group I am attached to joined Share An Opportunity Uganda’s Special Programme Convene and Convince (SPCC) that aims at connecting small holder farmers’ to profitable markets.
It was through this programme that our farmer’s group was connected to a large cassava market in Lira. So when I plant my cassava, I am not worried of who will buy it and how I will get it to the market.
Looking forward to a bright future
SAO has taught us about bulking. So as a group, we put our produce together and the buyers come and purchase it from a single point. Because of the availability of this market, I plan on opening up more land for cassava plantation.
This will also be possible because I bought an ox last year and I plan on buying another three so that I can have two pairs.
Right now, farming is my only source of income but I am happy that from it, I can buy food for my family and I have been able to take all my children to school. With this new acquired market, I believe I will make more profits and buy other modern farming tools.
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