Matovu’s money ‘grows’ on trees

Above, Matovu at his farm and right, some of the mangoes from his garden. With grafting, one tree can have two different types of mangoes. One branch can have one type and another a different type of mango

With grafting, each mango that weighs up to 3kg can fetch him between Shs2,000-Shs2,500,

Sometimes we have to utilise opportunities to exploit our talents and this is what Rashid Matovu has done. Using grafting, a horticultural practice of uniting parts of two plants so that they grow as one, Matovu has raised seedlings that have produced good variety at his farm in Jinja. He has become a permanent exhibitor at the Jinja show ground exhibition garden extension every year.

Tony red mangoes are some of the stand-out “wonder” crops at Matovu’s farm where a single mango can weigh up to three kilogrammes.
“In the local market, each mango can fetch me between Shs2,000 to Shs2,500 and the beauty of Tony red mangoes is that they are not seasonal. I am able to harvest from these trees all year round, so anytime I am sure of some income,” Matovu, who is in his late 20s says, as he walks me around the garden that also has apples, cabbages, tomatoes among other crops.

“So as I finish harvesting on one tree, another will be starting to bear fruit which keeps me in business. In fact, in the supermarket I can sell each mango up to Shs3,000 but obviously they (supermarket) make more money and thus profit from it,” he adds.
In an average supermarket, mangoes are priced depending on their weight, with standard prices for each kilogramme.
One of the contributing factors to good weather patterns that favour this year-round harvest at Nalufenya A village is the fact that the seedbeds and gardens are close to the lake. The soils are also loamy and fertile.

“One tree can have two different types of mangoes. One branch can have one type and another a different type of mango,” Matovu adds as he explains grafting as a method of tying together stems from two plants in order to get a better crop. His explanation is not far from the dictionary meaning.

From the different fruits, juice can be made into packaged fruit like splash. He has done grafting for avocado and apples and these crops have yielded good results. In his simple language, he explains that he will cross a male apple and use the tongue of the female during grafting in order to get a better apple fruit.

He however, says that not every plant can be grafted. “We do not graft pawpaws and jackfruit because they have a lot of sap.”
Matovu started doing grafting in 1999 after school. He offered Agriculture at Kyambogo University and was assigned to Jinja Diocese programme (Jideco), for his practicals.

To date, he still works with Jideco who have trained him further. He tells how he was retained by Jideco. “When I went for practical lessons, I made sure I gave it my best. When I was given a chance to prove myself, I used composite and liquid manure which worked well for the crops so my supervisors were impressed. I had been given a garden that had been sub-divided in smaller plots and I had plants like carrots, tomatoes, rice, egg plants, cabbages,” Matovu shares.

Today, he also organises Jideco’s exhibitions every year. He says one of the ministers in the kingdom (Busoga) has won a contract to supply seedlings of different fruits for export to London. And these will be got from Matovu’s farm. He says his biggest achievement is getting experience on this farm. His skill at grafting has taken him places on short term contracts to work on farms as far as Mbarara and across the border in Kenya to do grafting and professional garden maintenance work.

Matovu has something to show from his sweat. “I have also been able to build a home in Buzika (a parish in Jinja). I have five cows and have married. So far, I have six children,” he tells about his achievements worth a decade of hard work. He also has sheep which go for Shs40,000 each and goats. He dreams of owning one of the biggest and well-maintained farms one day.