Hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the undying spirit to push harder whether you win or face drawbacks are some of the essential ingredients to success, it is said.

This fits well with Jeanette Mukankusi, a resident of Birembo, Sovu Sector in Ngororero District, who, despite her lack of education and humble background, refused to give up on her dream of becoming a self-sustaining woman.

Though she never got a formal education, Mukankusi became a successful entrepreneur in her community through backyard farming rearing sheep for a livelihood. The 51- year-old is now a model farmer in Ngororero.  The farmer grows food crops in her backyard and looks after sheep and cattle on a 20-acre piece of land.

Starting out

The mother of four says she was forced to devise means to look after her family following the death of her husband.

"I knew from then on that I had to ‘dig’ my way out of poverty. This I had to do using a small piece of land my husband left the family with,” says Mukankusi.

She was faced with another challenge though, because the area was prone to soil erosion, and would not yield a good harvest.

"Fortunately, my neighbour had a big chuck of land, and was willing to let me use part of it and later share the produce with him,” she says.

She adds that the arrangement enabled her to increase production and diversify into growing other crops like potatoes, maize, wheat and beans.

Mukankusi says she used to produce less than 50kg of maize per season previously, noting that with more land her output increased to over 150kg of the cereal each season. "After about four seasons, I had saved enough money and bought my own piece of land, where I started growing multiple crops as well as rearing livestock, including sheep.

"Rearing sheep was at first not easy because they feed a lot, but I solved this by using maize stalks to feed the animals,” she says.

Secret to success

Mukankusi says her secret to success has been the readiness to work hard despite the challenges, and also saving part of her earnings. She says it is the only way to become self-sufficient.

As part of a plan to increase her productivity, have easy access to markets, farm inputs like fertilisers and credit, Mukankusi joined other farmers to form a co-operative.

"The idea was to position ourselves and respond to the new agriculture demands, including looking for a better market that required more innovative approaches. Therefore, coming together as farmers was a win-win situation for both the sector and us,” she says.

She adds that the co-operative enabled them to get inputs, which improved their production and household incomes.

Mukankusi notes that she acquired modern farming skills from training offered by Land Husbandry Water Harvesting and Hillside Irrigation (LWH) project in Ngororero last year.

"Our land was barren, and we only survived on maize and wheat because those are the only crops that would give us good yields. But after the transformation of our land with the help of LWH, we started growing Irish potatoes; and the harvests were always high,” she says.

Achievements

Mukankusi’s crop production has greatly increased over the years, and she now grows a number of crops, including beans, maize, Irish potatoes and wheat on her 20-acre piece of land. She says every season she harvests at least three tonnes of Irish, earning her more than Rwf500,000. She also has 20 sheep and some dairy cows, thanks to the Girinka programme. She has single-handled managed to send her children to school, and built a permanent house for the family using money from farming. Mukankusi says she saves Rwf200,000 in the bank each season.

Challenges

Like most farmers in the area, Mukankusi worries about soil erosion, prolonged droughts, floods, as well as lack of sustainable markets. She says the biggest challenge is finding market for her produce during the harvesting period, saying that most dealers are only willing to offer farmers ‘peanuts’.

She says since most of the crops she grows are perishable, they need to be sold as fast as possible. "I am optimistic that the government’s initiative to establish wholesale markets for Irish potatoes, and promote the leather industry will help us get ready market,” she says.

Mukankusi says she intends to mobilise other farmers in the near future so that they establish an agro-processing plant in Ngororero to help add value to their produce.

"That way, we shall be able to export to regional and other markets and hence make more money,” she says.