How Gonzaga’s Mechanical precision paid out into profitable agriculture

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For the tenth year running, Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, is running the Best Farmers Competition. The 2025 competition runs from April to November, with the awards in December. Every week, Vision Group platforms will publish profi les of the farmers. Winners will walk away with sh150m and a fully paid-for trip to the Netherlands.

When you step into Kagorogoro village in Kyenjojo district and mention fish, there is only one name that dominates the conversation: Kelvin Aloys Gonzaga.

In Kyawako village, 9km off the Kyenjojo-Fort Portal road, lies Kyabaranga Integrated Farm, a symbol of vision, resilience and innovation.

Over the past three decades, Gonzaga has turned once bare land into a thriving organic enterprise. His farm is a woven mosaic of ventures: Seven fish ponds, a bustling piggery, 25 acres of tea, 10 acres of coffee, 10 acres of macadamia and a herd of more than 100 goats.

Humble beginnings

“I am an engineer by profession,” Gonzaga says with a smile reflecting pride and nostalgia.

For many years, he lived in Kampala, running a successful mechanical workshop. His wife, Margaret Kamaikya, returned to their ancestral home in Kyawako village as early as 1992.

She balanced raising their children with tending to tea gardens, rearing animals and safeguarding the family land they had bought with their savings.

Gonzaga’s city income sustained the household, while Kamaikya laid the foundation for what would later become their agricultural empire.

By 2010, with their children grown and educated, Gonzaga felt the pull of home. When he finally resettled in Kyawako, the family enterprise was still modest, with a few animals and a small piggery project introduced under the National Agricultural Advisory Services.

Building the piggery

In 2007, they had been host farmers, receiving one boar and four sows. What began as a modest start quickly grew into a structured enterprise that supplied hundreds of piglets.

A turning point came during his work at the Toro dairy cooling plant. There, Gonzaga noticed that large volumes of churned milk residues, the by-product of ghee processing, were being discarded but learnt that they could be repurposed as pig feed.

The engineer-turned-farmer grows tea.

This innovation reduced costs and improved animal health and productivity. Introduced into pig feed, the dairy by-product transformed his enterprise.

The animals thrived, growing faster, healthier and breeding more consistently.

“Over time, what started with five pigs has produced more than 700 pigs in total,” Gonzaga explains.

Between 2011 and 2014 alone, his farm supplied between 100 and 150 piglets annually, many of them going to government youth projects and community farmers.

As demand for piglets increased, Gonzaga recognised the need to expand. He invested sh10m in a piece of land adjoining his homestead. At its lower edge lay a swampy patch initially viewed as a simple water source.

Venturing into fish farming

Gonzaga officially ventured into aquaculture in 2015, with approval from the National Environment Management Authority.

By 2016, three ponds had been excavated and stocked with tilapia and catfish fingerlings. The learning curve was steep, but Gonzaga’s meticulous record keeping quickly paid off.

His first harvest in 2017 produced 800kg of fish, each kilogramme fetching sh8,000. Encouraged by the results, he reinvested his earnings, expanding the ponds to seven.

The yields were impressive. Tilapia grew to an average of 1.5kg, while some catfish reached a remarkable 7.7kg.

“That showed me fish can grow very well here if managed properly,” Gonzaga says with conviction.

Achievements

For Gonzaga, turning bare land into a thriving model farm stands as his proudest achievement.

“I once dreamt of training others in modern farming. Today, that dream is real,” he reflects.

Beyond production, he treasures the opportunity to meet and inspire farmers across his district. These interactions fuel his passion for agriculture and deepen his commitment to sharing knowledge and uplifting others.

Community impact

At Kyabaranga Integrated Farm, Gonzaga trains youth and neighbouring farmers in piggery management, fish farming and crop diversification.

He has supplied over 100 piglets to hundreds of households and inspired many to embrace agriculture as a business.

“I always tell my workers: You are not just employees, you are part of this family. What you learn here can help you start your own projects,” he explains.

His farm is now a demonstration site frequently visited by schools, non-governmental organisations and agricultural officers seeking to learn from his integrated approach.

Looking ahead

At 68, Gonzaga is not slowing down. His next goals include constructing a dam, introducing cage fish farming and setting up cold storage facilities.

He also dreams of establishing a macadamia processing unit. More importantly, Gonzaga wants to leave behind a model for his children and grandchildren to build upon.

“Farming is not for one generation,” he says. “It is for those who come after us.”

Challenges

Agripreneur Kelvin Gonzaga has faced his share of hurdles. Market volatility in tea and fish, high feed costs for pigs and delays in government support programmes have tested his resilience.

Infrastructure gaps, such as a lack of reliable cold storage and limited transportation options, also remain major obstacles.

He says finding consistent buyers at fair prices is sometimes difficult.

“Disease outbreaks can wipe out entire herds, causing devastating losses,” Gonzaga says.

With tea, he says the delay of payments also affects cash flow. With macadamia, Gonzaga says the trees take years to mature.

Pests and diseases can reduce yields. Additionally, market access is still limited.

Other Kyabaranga business lines

Tea project

Supported by National Agricultural Advisory Services, engineer-by-training Kelvin Gonzaga expanded his acreage to 25 acres of tea, becoming both a shareholder and a regular supplier to the farmer owned Mabale Tea Factory.

He explains that tea plantation, once established, is a lifetime investment. With a lifespan of 80 to 100 years, it only requires periodic pruning and fertiliser.

“After five years, you just maintain it. Tea doesn’t die, it only gives,” Gonzaga notes.

Coffee

Alongside tea, Gonzaga planted coffee, slowly expanding to 10 acres. It has proven to be one of his most dependable crops, especially after he joined the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers irrigation programme.

Here the government catered for 75% of the costs for an irrigation system, while he paid the rest. The irrigation system has allowed him to maintain yields even in dry spells.

In addition, manure from the piggery is composted and applied to coffee plants, reducing dependency on chemical fertilisers.

“Coffee has been my safety net, when other enterprises are shaky, coffee stabilises the farm,” he says.

Macadamia

In 2010, Gonzaga and his wife joined a farmer tour to Kenya, where they learned about the potential of macadamia (royal nuts). Inspired, they planted 10 acres upon returning home.

Though macadamia takes long to mature, Gonzaga views it as a crop of the future.

“It is of high value and in demand globally. Once it starts, macadamia consistently produces nuts. We wanted something that could secure the next generation,” he explains.

For Gonzaga, macadamia is not just an investment but also part of his diversification strategy, ensuring that no single market shock can cripple the farm.

Goats, other livestock

Gonzaga rears more than 100 goats, a reliable source of both meat and quick cash whenever emergencies arise. Alongside the goats, he also keeps chickens, rabbits and a banana plantation. These enterprises ensure a steady supply of food for his household and the eight full-time workers on his farm.

“I take care of my workers’ food problems; they don’t have to buy food. That keeps them loyal and focused,” Gonzaga explains.

The goats, kept on a free-range system, fetch between sh200,000 and sh250,000 each, while his local chickens sell for between sh20,000 and sh30,0000 and sh30,000.