By Agnes Kasemiire
John Winter Bagada is a prominent mango farmer in Masindi district, whose life has gradually changed for the better.
Today, Bagada has about 900 mango trees that sit on 10 acres of land. Although he sells his mangoes to supermarkets in Masindi town, he says traders from Hoima and Kampala are his major buyers.
At the peak of each season, he makes over Shs 20 million from selling mangoes.
He attributes the bumper harvest to good management skills which include timely pruning and spraying.
The start
In 1989, when Bagada bought a six acre piece of land in Biizi cell, Nyangahya division in Masindi Municipality, there was a small mango tree, which he did not cut but instead cared for. In 1999, the tree started bearing fruits in big numbers that his neighbours requested to buy from him.
This was an awakening call to him and he realised the hidden treasure in that particular variety. “I knew since people liked the mangoes, I would make money if I planted on large scale and sold them,” he says.
He started by planting 10 trees in his compound, but was disappointed when they took seven years to bear fruits. At the time, his only source of income was the 1.5 acre of banana plantation. However, in 2005, the plantation was destroyed by bacteria wilt and this frustrated his finances.
In December the same year, he was privileged to be part of the delegation of Bunyoro leaders that visited model farmers in Rwakitura, Kiruhura district. During the visit, President Yoweri Museveni advised them to grow high-value crops like fruits on commercial basis.
They were taught how to graft plants. Grafting is a vegetative propagation technique that connects two severed plant segments together. Grafted plants bloom and produce faster and sooner than those propagated by seeds.
Since Bagada already had some mango trees, he decided to add more and grow on a large scale.
Following the president’s advice, he grafted 60 seedlings, and in a period of two years and six months, the trees started flowering and bearing mangoes. By the third year, he was already picking mangoes and supplying to supermarkets around Masindi town. After realizing he could make a lot of money from growing more, he decided to plant more 60 trees.
With proceeds from mango sales, he bought 1.5 acres of land and planted more mangoes.
Later, he bought four more acres of land in Kakwesi and planted more 300 mangoes trees. As of today, Bagada has planted a total of 900 mango trees that altogether sit on the 10 acres of land. A long with mangoes, Bagada also sells grafted seedlings and this has increased his income.
Achievements
Bagada has bought 5.5 acres of land and built a four bed-room house at his home in Biizi.
Furthermore, the farming enterprise has helped him pay school fees for his children, in addition to fending for his family.
He has also been able to diversify his farming enterprise for value addition and has set up a juice processing plant. He has also set up an agro tourism project where people visit his farm to learn more farming practices.
Advice
Bagada advises those venturing into mango growing to ensure they grow good quality seedlings for better income. In the same regard, he has taken it upon himself to sensitize people about good mango agricultural practices.
He usually participates in radio talk shows and often he is invited to teach in institutions how to grow mangoes on a large scale.
Bagada holds a Diploma in Modern Management and Administration from Makerere University.
