Uganda's Best Farmers visit PUM companies in The Netherlands

13 Winners of the highly competitive Ugandan ‘Best Farmers’ competition visited the Netherlands between October 13 and 18. They spent an entire day visiting the farms run by Dutch agricultural entrepreneurs, who also volunteer for PUM.

On a sunny morning in the small town of Suwâld, in northern province of Friesland,  Arne Doornebal, Community Manager at the Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC) and the Ugandan Farmers were welcomed by Mr. Rients-Jan Lenes, a dairy farmer who specialises in raising Friesian cows.

Every year, East African farmers can enter a competition and be crowned the best farmer of their district or in their sub-sector.  This competition is sponsored by the Dutch embassy in Kampala and a number of Dutch and Ugandan companies. The group of 13 winners not only gets a cash prize to invest in their business and the honours, but also gets to go on a one-week study tour to the Netherlands.

This is how the winners found themselves in Friesland. NABC reached out to PUM to arrange visits to farms, making it possible for the farmers to spend an entire day learning firsthand.

Mr. Lenes is a volunteer PUM. Every year, he travels to East-Asia, collaborating and sharing knowledge about dairy farming.

‘Friesland is beautiful, but the world is so much bigger. There are dairy farmers all over the world, and it brings me joy to visit them. With my family we used to travel during our family holidays, until my wife and children started complaining. They did not want to see any cows during our sparse holidays! Then I discovered PUM. On a voluntary basis, I collaborate on one or two projects per year, while I hire someone else to look after my farm. It is extremely rewarding to see how sometimes my advice can boost the productivity of a farm – immediately raising the family’s income,’ Mr. Lenes said.

Mr. Lenes welcomed a group of six Ugandan dairy farmers for a full day farm visit. ‘Much as they can learn from me, I am also learning from them. Our countries may be different in many aspects, but we, farmers, speak the same universal language.’

During the day, the group engaged in talks with Mr. Lenes about the best types of feed, grazing time, animal housing and health. They also visited the farm of his brother, down the road, to look at feeding- and milking robots.

Another group, active in horticulture, meanwhile visited the farm of Mr. Meindert den Ouden in Zuidland, south of the city of Rotterdam.

Mr. Den Ouden carried out several projects for PUM in the field of potato growing.  He visited Uganda twice and developed a deep appreciation for the country. He welcomed three Ugandan farmers and showed them around at his 100-hectare farm.

The group gained a clear understanding of his farm’s processes. During the field visit, Mr. Den Ouden gave the farmers an overview of his farm operations, answering numerous questions about the farming practices and the advanced technology used to maintain efficient operations. They toured the potato fields and visited neighbouring farmers. This visit provided them with a firsthand experience of how potatoes are harvested and stored for future use.

PUM’s country coordinator for Uganda, Mr. Tom Borghols, joined the group in Zuidland. ‘It was an inspiring visit,’ Mr. Borghols said. ‘The Ugandan farmers, two already collaborated with PUM,  got to see a lot of innovations during a tour on Meindert’s Farm. Meindert is on the forefront of new developments. He has a machine that highly effectively sprays insecticides, whereby only 20% of the original volume is used. Also, other eco-friendly developments were demonstrated,’ said the PUM country coordinator.

As organisations deeply engaged in Africa, NABC and PUM cooperate on various projects and see great potential to strengthen this partnership in the near future.

When the day ended, both the Ugandan farmers as their hosts expressed a lot of enthusiasm on the day’s events.

By Arne Doornebal/NABC in collaboration with PUM

Pictures: Jamal Andrew/NABC