Farmer embraces greenhouse farming

By JUSYUS LYATUU
Published November 22, 2009

Chris Kaliisa, the first greenhouse farmer at Kinoni-Najjembe in Mukono District

A Ugandan farmer has started greenhouse production of tomatoes, raising hopes that the vegetable will soon be available throughout the year in the country, at affordable prices.

Chris Kaliisa, a farmer at Kinoni-Najjembe in Mukono District, recently visited the United Kingdom and Israel, where most agricultural production is under greenhouses because of scarcity of water and land. On return to Uganda, he started his greenhouse farming project on a one-acre piece of land. The initiative has a price tag of Ushs57 million (US$30,481).

Kaliisa said greenhouse farming could help increase incomes of many rural households in Uganda because it doesn’t require huge parcels of land to start.

“People in Kinoni-Najjembe grow a lot of tomatoes, but the yield is always poor, because the tomatoes are [usually] affected by pests, and diseases, or too much rainfall, since we are near Mabira forest,” he said.

Hebert Oloka, a scientist at International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), explained that greenhouses help farmers to grow crops comfortably, so long as one has a good business plan and model.

A Greenhouse is a structure used to protect plants (especially delicate plants such as tomatoes), from direct sunshine, pests and diseases, while keeping weeds away.

Kaliisa explained that tomatoes are generally highly susceptible to diseases, and require heavy application of pesticides, but under the greenhouse growing technique, which comes with basic training on hygiene, most common infections such as tomato blight, do not affect the plants.

For one to grow tomatoes in greenhouses, special technical training is needed. A farmer must know how to handle the crop, right from the nursery stage, until the crops reach harvesting time, Kaliisa said.

One also has to know how to water and weed the crop, and handle plant vines because they have to be supported inside the greenhouse with sticks, and strings, he added.

Kaliisa said tomatoes grown under greenhouses mature quickly, and have higher yields. They also have a shelf life of 21 days, compared to 14 days for those grown in the open.

“When I used to practice outdoor farming, my tomatoes would take three months to mature, but under my greenhouse, they only take two months,” he said, adding that he harvests two to three times a day, while under outdoor farming, he could only harvest once in a week.

Another advantage of greenhouse farming is that farmers can predict their harvest, Kaliisa said.
“I planted 12,000 seedlings, and I expect each to give me between 50 to 60 kilograms, so I will in total get 720,000 kilograms from the one-acre I planted,” he said.

Oloka said farmers who grow tomatoes in greenhouses can determine the number of plants and yields from the very beginning, and control their losses.

Kaliisa said farmers, who practice greenhouse farming usually prepare a separate nursery in a smaller greenhouse, where it takes two to three weeks, before transplanting them.

Kaliisa uses the smaller greenhouses for the seedlings, and during transplanting, he said, the plants usually grow faster, because the temperature in the nursery and the greenhouse is the same. The plants are also not stressed, in the process of transplanting, he said.

He  uses organic manure for transplanting, which he uses sparingly, because excess manure will make the plants overgrow.

Kaliisa said tomatoes grown in greenhouses need watering in the morning and evening, especially during the dry spells, adding that spacing tomato seedlings in the greenhouses, and outdoor farms is the same.

If the concept is widely embraced, Uganda could soon start enjoying year-round supply of tomatoes, Kaliisa said.

The greenhouse projects are capital intensive and materials needed include polythene sheets, poles, and piping (for drip irrigation, which is the best). Other expenses include general plumbing and labour, among others.

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