Bihuku, a farmer in rural Uganda
Did you know that 80% (eighty) percent of Uganda’s land is arable but only 35% is being cultivated. In the financial year of 2022/23, agriculture accounted for about 24% of the GDP, and 35% of export earnings. The UBOS (Uganda Bureau of Statistics) estimates that about 68% of Uganda’s working population is employed in agriculture
With this being understood, we would like to introduce you to Bihuku, a farmer from the western part of Uganda, hailing from the Kasanga village found in Kasese. Bihuku not only farms for consumption but also commercially as a means to earn a living. In the 1980s many farmers in Uganda sold food crops to meet short-term expenses but with the ever changing times and increase in expenses like fertiliser and tools plus an ever increasing market where does that leave farmers like Bihuku in rural areas of under-developed countries.
Various programmes on the African continent have been introduced to cater to the trials faced by farmers, many of them funded by national or foreign governments as a way to give the farmers a chance. A fundamental part of the cash-transfers enables Buhiki to use as felt, the finances he receives as a way to bolster his farming capabilities and yields.
Buhiki who grows bananas, peas and beans with the #unconditionalincome purchased animals to add onto his farm thus expanding and diversifying his operations on the farm. Additionally, he has also improved on his housing conditions therein building a semi-permanent house and supplemented it with items such as bedding.
Bihuku’s future plans involve using the #basicincome to improve on his farming and also set up a retail shop in the trading centre of Kyatoka.
In the documentary CRAZY MONEY, episode 5 (five) highlights another individual in a similar situation, James Byaruhanga who also used his unconditional income to further his chicken farming.
The episode titled ‘Starting a Business’ can be viewed via vimeo through the link below;