 You used to be a lecturer in three different universities and decided to quit and become a good farmer. See, I have questions that I ask anyone that I meet. Do you hear me? Are you sure you're okay? I'm so glad I decided to go on this journey because every single African that I meet along the way inspires me more. And listen, if an African inspires me, that's why I need to use this platform to inspire you. We are changing the narrative, not just showing you the beauty of Africa, but letting you know that it's possible to make it in Africa. She has done it. And I know and believe that you can also do it too. I believe that her story might inspire so many university lecturers. And I'm thinking if we get our university lecturers out of university, who's going to teach us then? I'm Grace Woji, a full-time farmer of goats, Matoke and sheep, based here in Rakai, central Uganda. Basically what we do, we are majorly into breeding goats and breeding sheep. We also do the importation. We also offer trainings to farmers out there. This is the most beautiful thing I've seen since I came to Uganda. Thank you. I feel happy as well. Seeing all these goats, sheep, cows around you, waking up to them every morning. It's a beautiful moment. It's a beautiful scenery. I love it. That is more reason as to why I left Kampala to come here and do it full-time because I love it. You live here, six hours away from Kampala. You don't like the city life. The city life bothers me actually. I always tell people that every time I'm in the city, I fall sick and sometimes I'm broke when I'm in the city because it's so expensive to live in the city. You used to be a lecturer in three different universities and decided to quit and become a goat farmer. See, I have questions that I ask anyone that I meet. No, don't hear me. Are you sure you're okay? I'm good. No, no. You mean you chose goat farming of a lecturer in a university? I was very sober when I made this decision and I don't regret it and I would advise anyone out there who wants to live off his life. I would always welcome to come and I advise them. Basically, I'm one kind of person who loves experimenting, exploring, creating creativity and hands-on. I hate doing the same thing over and over again. You get it. Here, when you're on a farm, you always experience challenges. You're always creating new solutions. The money was good, but it was not as good as the money I get from goat farming because I get from several incomes, streams of several incomes. Are you saying being a goat farmer worth more than being a lecturer is this? Obviously, in the first two years, it was not easy because I was just starting, but after I established myself, I did the groundwork, I did the branding, the marketing because I do most of my marketing on social media. Things started falling into play and I never regretted. The man I'm earning here is three times more than what I was earning as a university lecturer and on top of that, on top of the pressure you must teach here, you must mark examination scripts you must do this and this so I quit one university from one university to the other and then I came for this. How long have you been doing this? I've been doing this for eight years now. Eight years? Yeah, eight years. I've been doing it for eight years and it's quite a journey, a very interesting journey full of ups and downs but I don't regret it How many acres do you have right now? We farm on around 200 acres of land but this is family land this is not my land personally We farm on family land This is my dad's land, my father's land I requested him can I use part of your land because he had cows on and his first instinct was he gave me all sorts of risks the goats will be stolen you're not managing in the bushes they will disturb you I quit all sorts of things for a girl child I told him you know what dad let me try it out if I fail, I'll come back to you so every year that past I kept improving every year, so every time he comes here I would say oh my god How did it start? Your father gave you the land and then from there? How I started, you can imagine even after teaching in three universities I didn't have the capital to start the money never used to come on time they would only pay us when we are about to strike like most university lecturers would say we are about to strike then they give us a little bit of the money and then you pay your rent you pay for food, fees and what I'm like no I can't continue doing something like that so I said I quit so when I started I got a friend who is a farmer an established farmer he loaned me 5 million that is roughly like $1,200 he loaned me that money I started with 30 goats and then I also got a few males you'll see the makeshift house that I didn't have enough money that even the team, some of the team I would nail it myself to cut on the cost of building that house and I started with that and what made me so famous that everybody wanted to know how I make it because most people come in even the men come in and they fail on this and like how does how does she do it why does she make it feel as easy as it is not so easy so that is the kind of thing I wanted to bring out so what I did, what I started doing when everybody thought that farming is hard I would go out and do the research do the research because I was a former lecturer I make simple templates to my shock up to now those simple templates I used to make short notes and I give them on people on WhatsApp, on Facebook people still use them up to now but I was also green about goats I was totally green but I would do my research, give out the rest and eventually I became an expert on goat farming, that is how I am now does it mean that you had a passion for goat farming I had a passion for farming because we grew up as farmers my dad my dad used to get all the money he used to pay our school fees in advance, a year in advance he would come here, sell a few cows give each one their pay slip, they go to the bank and they bank the money, a full year in advance and that's how I'm like you know if he can do it with his little salary because he's a surveyor, he's a retired surveyor he was earning very little if he can pay for all of us, the eight of us in advance, then farming there is really something in the continent where we don't see farming for elites we see farming for poor people I mean you used to be a lecturer now, you are a full-time good farmer, I mean if you should say something to change the mindset of young Africans, or Africans in general what would that be we as Africans we should change the narrative about farming, it is us not anybody else to change like I've come out and I'm passionate about good farming, and I'm great at good farming somebody else there like Daniel is good at chicken poultry, poultry farming, you get it anybody out there, what I should tell all Africans out there watching me farming, you can never go wrong in farming obviously the first two years may not be easy because you are still grumbling you are struggling with little resources but with time every time you repeat something consistent, you always earn out of that thing farming is our gold mine in Africa but most Africans don't know that they run to the city they rush to go to the Asian countries to go and look for work our gold is here actually I feel bad when I see people selling land to go in the cities but like I said, not everybody is passionate, you know this kind of business requires somebody who is passionate that when there are losses you still continue going when you have got something you still, every time it is orace the orace needs something to keep you going what else you don't have in here because I've seen my talk, it's like you basically our idea here we want to make this an agro tourism kind of farm and where farmers come to get all the information they need about something, about livestock we are in two Barani cows we are in two local goats we are in two boa goats like you're seeing we are also trying to start sheep farming and while we started the sheep, they are low maintenance we have the grass and they don't require a lot of capital basically as soon as you buy, you buy them the only maintenance we incur there it is for deworming them and also for the person who had them there is nothing else, so it is a small cost and they give us good money and the reason why most farmers are going for sheep farming reason being, farmers are fading there are more than numbers in goats because of the high mortality so there in Uganda like you have seen you don't see anywhere where there is a butcher for mutton but the mutton still goes people sell it, it still goes there is no butcher that you go to a specific place and say I want mutton it's not there but the market for the sheep it is growing all the day all day long if farming was used to punish us even in schools doesn't mean there is something wrong with our education system there is something you used to be a lecturer yourself there is something wrong with our education system reason being that it is affecting us in one way or the other one, when we are in school what they do in our schools they pump our children with a lot of theory a lot of theory how do you teach somebody something European history it's not helping us here as Africans let's start by learning what makes us special as Africans let us start by learning what makes us stick as Africans you get it, most of the things I am doing here they are not out of the that have not copied them from the bazoongus out there, the whites out there no, this is African setting simple simple simple any African out there can what can make it but when we grew up, when we were young the baddest and the thing that used to make most Africans head farming they would beat us beat us, I mean they would punish us when they are punishing you they punish you and they give you a slush to God they punish you, they give you a chunk of land to dig so most people grew up heading farming, heading agriculture agriculture is not meant to be dirty you can see my hands are clean one can get money out of there farming you can work at your own pace farming you you open up your mind to the innovativeness you always read something, if it is in the US out there you have seen it why can't I apply it here why can't I use it, and Africans we are very innovative but because of the kind of education that we are pumped with when we are growing up that even the people we are employing now are having challenges that you bring him, the person has a masters they have two master degrees you bring him to work for you he is asking for a lot of pay because they know nothing they know nothing with practical as Africans and parents out there who are watching me I should encourage them to bring their children to technical schools to schools where they can have hands on information let's first do away with a lot of theory theory is not helping us actually here I employ graduates but when I am employing graduates I don't even look at their paperwork I look at what they are going to give me how they are going to use their mind to give me the kind of work I need I need somebody who can think and say I can think out of my mind to do this madam the girls are getting cold at night what have you done you as an African get a charcoal stove, put charcoal put it there and get warm instead of lamenting that is the kind of innovative creativity simple things creating solutions for challenges that are facing us we don't need the wife to come and help us here no we don't so what you are saying is that we need to create African solution for Africans problem exactly that is what I mean how is the demand the demand is overwhelming me I have told you my numbers are around 700 I have the land I have the expertise but I don't have the kind of capital to allow me to push my goods to 3000 because that is my target the demand is overwhelming me why they are clocking 700 only not even 1000 the demand for the goods is overwhelming me from all over East Africa that actually currently I am longer picking calls from Kenya because I don't have goods to give to them the demand is overwhelming me does it mean you need partners I need partners I need individual partners to come and we do this together we increase the good population I can assure them that the market is there those who have seen me at least they have seen me sell goods on a weekly basis on a weekly basis I sell between 800 to 100 goods and usually I don't sell from my numbers I move around my neighbors I get the goods I bring them here because I am overwhelmed so what I am doing I am creating out growers in my neighborhood to get the kind of goods that I sell to the customers out there what has been the major challenge here as a farmer the major challenge every farm experiences are unique challenges but here my unique challenge is I get a high staff turnover because I use youth their illiterates you cannot bind them using an agreement you bring in somebody today with the right conditions you give them the good money you give them all the incentives medical you have somebody to cook for them they have a TV they watch so any time you give them all the kind of information but somebody out there will call him and tell him you know what we are having an increment of roughly five dollars he will run away and after three months he realizes that he was duped he wants to come back and my resolve on that I never bring back somebody who has left so one high staff turnover the youth did not want to work they want easy money they want I face that actually time is going to come we are devising means because when I went to visit in South Africa my mentor he has over seven thousand goats and they are only managed by three workers how does he do it he is paddock king he paddocked and all the goats are in different paddock's so time for counting for the warming all that the three workers do all the work you get it and that's why we are going in resource is becoming the hardest especially with our youth they don't want to work they want to stay in Kampala they want to take nice pictures they are only good at negotiating good salaries they don't want to work at all then the other challenge like I told you you can see our farm is a little bit in the valley so we experience especially in the rainy season we get a lot of water coming yes the upper part because the goats and the cows cross over to go to the other part which has a lot of vegetation so usually we have foot roads and it increases our expenditure on medication every rainy season that is one those are the two biggest challenges we face as farmers but the issue of market I have a very high demand for goats my goats are highly sought after that I sometimes I switch off actually I don't have a seat of my phone it would be buzzing how many people have you employed so far I employ 22 people here and majorly full time they are 15 and then the casuals are the other the rest you separate them for their moms yes we separate them because we don't allow them to go to graze when they rush to graze when they are still young their stomachs are still delicate they get worms they get worms ha you are coming to me I am going to come to you wow do you know you are coming to me how are you I thought it's only humans that like me I didn't know that even animals also like me this is our time for them to give birth can hold this exotic their meat is compacted that is where the magic is the other one you have been holding is a local goat how old is this one this is like 2 weeks old here all of these are not yet 3 months actually they are like 1 and a half 2 months, a few days like this is I didn't leave it there it was born I think early last week so this is the house we started with this is where you started oh my god this was my house the first one with the 30 goats I started here listen now I believe that you really borrowed money to do this after seeing this I believe that you really borrowed money when you borrow money you see the nail and you are like this is $100 so you use only one instead of two I was trying to cut cost you see the creativity I am talking about these are things our youth cannot think about this is something so small you just get a brush the goats need to scratch themselves you see the hairs around them they scratch themselves it is this simple it is giving us a show telling us what she said was true look at that oh okay so when I got the money we put up that majorly for the exotic goats they like clean environment and it is easier to clean this looks beautiful thank you this one when you had good money but Africans out there don't fear to start start with the little money you have use locally available materials that is what I use that is eucalyptus the timber I got from the farm it is only the nails the net and the cassola and also the roofing but the rest it was just simple things to start don't start to extravagantly you find somebody started with a house very expensive house time for stocking goats they stock very few goats and they have used all the money to construct the house it does not make economic sense collection water is used to be a challenge and we realize our goats need fresh clean water all the time so we do the water collection and then we bring the troughs but right now all our dams we have dams, we have several dams in every corner of the farm they are drinking in the different corners but June, July when the water is reduced we start using some of this water here do you have electricity here? we use solar this place is always lit up it is solar do you sometimes do crossbreeding? do I what? crossbreed crossbreed yes we do crossbreeding these are all crossbreeds they come from the local goats these are all crosses and also this side the local goats are crossbreeds from the exotic so what is born here if they look nice we like them we transfer them this side the house is in the background when I was starting in 2015 that mad house is where I used to stay with my workers because I was cutting costs and I had nowhere to stay so I would stay in one room for a number of days when I would go back to Kampala my workers would change their bedsheets and then they use the room so it went on like that till when I got money to construct the big house I have seen up there but I was staying here what matters is touch start and be consistent the challenges will come but please don't give up that's all I can say to the farmers out there watching me how many of you would sacrifice to stay here just to make sure your dream comes true this is the struggles that most success people don't show you but they go through a lot just to make it big so I would say that always make their life inspire you to hate all sorts of people is this not banana? yeah this is madana matoke madana matoke it's not the same thing like this no that is different, that is sweet this is bejali cooked this one is not cooked it's consumed as a sweet banana this is not sweet but when they ripen also there are some people who like to eat them when they arrive they can also be sweet as those but bejali we cook it in the morning breakfast you can have it for lunch you can have it for dinner it's just like that yes we do it is very delicious and what we do with the leaves the leaves we feed the leaves to our local chicken there the turkey we feed it to them what do you do with the leaves? I'm heart broken I'm heart broken we don't eat the leaves here I'm heart broken you don't eat this no we don't, we give them to the chicken they enjoy it so so much to every Ugandan watching me right now this is called kontomre this can give you one of the best sauces in the whole world and this gives blood if you don't have blood you can actually chop this I don't know if you guys make seriously put it and even if you need blood only boil it and just drink the water wow that's something new to me this is a lot of money people sell this chicken we only eat the roots down and what about the leaves? the leaves are poisonous to the goat so we just leave them in the garden we don't even want the goats to go there so in West Africa ok let me talk about Ghana in some part of Ghana goats only eat the the cassava leaves she's shocked goats, sheep, no all of them that's actually what they like then we use the roots to pound our fufu but if you go to Liberia Nigeria what's it called? ceruleon they only make the best stew out of the cassava leaves that's news to my ear the goats in Ghana eat cassava leaves it has cyanide we don't feed it to our goats it causes miscarriages and also goats that feed on the cassava leaves they don't usually fatten and what about this? we use it to mulch and then if you're not using it to mulch we can give some of it to the goats finally we have something in common so finally we have something in common but the leaves, what you should know about the leaves there is no nutrient content if you give it to the goats basically you are feeding them water there is nothing in a nutrient to them that's why your goats are small that's why we have small goats that cyanide cannot allow a goat to grow fat oh my goodness we feed them with our plantain leaves there is no nutrient content oh my goodness I hope West Africans are watching this video your final message to Africans watching us right now ok, my final remark on Africans out there don't be afraid to farm farming is fun you have a big environment to explore your creativity it is your own boss you work any day I've just been talking to Wodemaya I told him I've been away from the farm for 10 days but I have some money I'm already earning even when I'm not around so don't be afraid to farm please let's start to farm now and there is no single day in Africa where any African is going to go without food we shouldn't be importing food we have all the food here let us start that crusade of growing our own food let us teach our children to grow their food to become farmers farming is not only dirty but farming there are so many avenues one can earn income from farming farming is a business if you want to know more or you want to see more from Grace all you need to do is to click in the link below the YouTube channel link is there I mean you all have to go and subscribe and you also use Facebook Bode Farms we use Facebook YouTube is Bode Farms Uganda please subscribe to our channel we are going to be talking so much about our experience road data about farming experience in general here in Uganda thank you so much for watching and I'm so inspired and I know and believe that you are also inspired like this video, subscribe and be part of us also bye