Mr. Jusus Businge is a man who can not settle for less. The chairperson of the Nyamirama farmers group, formed under the Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments Project in Uganda. The group has since received chicken, pigs, and goats. Businge used to cultivate at the banks of river Ngolo.
However, government initiatives aimed at restoring wetlands ensured that community members such as Businge have alternative livelihood options. Four down the road, Businge is a happy man. He and the other 29 members of the group are experiencing an upward change in their lives. He rears chicken, goats, and pigs and cultivates vanilla, bananas, and coffee. The proceeds from the above are helping him meet his domestic needs including paying school fees, and medical bills among others. Besides, growing coffee, vanilla, and bananas, in addition to rearing pigs, and goats, Businge has introduced fish farming at the periphery of the river Ngolo. He has three hand-dug fish ponds, which he stocked with 1000 fingerlings.
“I decided to diversify my earnings. I am using the river banks sustainably. Unlike previously, when I used to grow crops. Now I have the ponds. I believe these pounds can give me another stream of income. My challenge, though, is the issue of feeding. I feed the fish locally using available materials- posho,” Businge explains.