We ventured  into   forest farming in order  to make our contribution  towards re-forestation effort  of  government  aimed at  restoring forest cover and addressing  current  shortage of timber. The current acute shortage  has led to continuous increase in timber prices.

Trees on the farm

The  trees planted on the farm include  pine, eucalyptus, Musizi,  mangoes, bamboo,  avocadoes, oranges and jackfruit among others.  There are also many local species of trees  that have been preserved.

Opportunities created by a forest

The forest cover  has  created a lot of opportunities to engage in other farming activities including growing of  herbal plants  and plant seedlings that require some  forest cover. In addition the farm has   over 50 KTB colonized beehives in the forest. The forest also provides firewood to the local community who collect dry branches that  regularly drop down. We are currently creating  nature walk forest paths for the visitors to the farm.

Challenges in forest farming

The major challenges in forest farming include  lack of readily available quality seedlings and   forest extension services.

Way forward

As a way of overcoming the above challenges , we have developed a seedling unit that has seedlings  of most plants on the farm. We have also  linked with forest research centers to access  forest advisory services.