LIRA CITY, October 1, 2024 – Tom Okao, Chief Executive Officer of the Fountainhead Institute of Management and Technology in Lira City, has urged public servants to engage in commercial farming as a proactive measure for their retirement.
Okao, who began poultry and goat farming in 2021, emphasised in an interview with this reporter days ago that farming is not solely for the uneducated, as some may believe. He highlighted that those in formal employment can successfully practice farming even before retirement.
After transitioning from formal employment, Okao returned to his home village to pursue commercial farming. “I didn’t want to stay in town anymore. I retreated here and began reorganising my home for retirement,” he explained at his Eco-Harvest Farm located in Otono ‘B’ village, Ober parish, about 10 km east of Lira City.
From his farming enterprise, Okao reports a gross profit of Shs 50 million every six months from the sale of eggs, chicken, goats, sheep, and turkeys.
He started the project with just one local chicken, but with the support of his wife, Ketty Okao, he procured nine more birds to enhance the venture.
“After a few months, the chickens began laying eggs. Eager to see the project thrive, I built a locally made incubator for hatching the eggs,” he said. Due to his dedication and proper care for the birds, he achieved a total of 200 market-ready birds by 2022.
Okao says he sold these birds during the festive season for Shs 30,000 each, earning Shs 6 million, which ignited his passion for poultry farming as a business. “We were motivated and used part of the money to pay school fees while the rest was reinvested into buying more chicken,” he added, noting that the birds also provide valuable farmyard manure.
https://thecooperator.news/education-officer-urges-students-to-embrace-farming/
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