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8 ebenezer Friday, july 29, 2022 news economic solution to something fishy in uganda building expertise Mutyaba is building expertise in aquaculture, which refers to raising fish in either earthen ponds or cage units submerged in natural water bodies. Curiosity, he has found, can be a stronger driver to success than prior knowledge or expectations. “I recalled first seeing cage fishing promoted in 2010,” Mutyaba said. “What I didn’t know then fascinated me as much as what I now know.” Once learned, catching fish in a mesh enclosure is a more reliable method than net casting. Tilapia, which is Mutyba’s favourite to eat followed by catfish, is the most common in Uganda. (Nile perch, according to Livingstone, is equally tasty, but the smell lingers on your body for hours.) Faculty of Agricultural Sciences By Patty Huston-Holm (This article was edited from the July 2021 published version) John Livingstone Mutyaba is not a fisherman. He’s never baited a hook on a line, cast a net or set up a cage. But he knows a lot about fishing. So much so that the head of Department of Natural Resource Economics and Agribusiness in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Uganda Christian University (UCU) is increasingly being acknowledged for his research on the topic – specifically about “the economic analysis of raising fish in cages in Uganda,” a case study in Lake Victoria waters. Mutyaba’s explanation for his lack of practical experience is simple. He doesn’t have the time. He has all the knowledge required for cage fish farming business but a schedule packed with family, with teaching and with his own learning and research towards a doctoral degree. Capture fishing (with a net) is the most practiced activity in the fishery dependent communities in Uganda. Current statistics show School of Law By Agatha N. Biira (This article was edited from the March 2022 published version) that almost 99% of the people living in the fishing communities derive their livelihoods through capture fishing and also use heavy alcoholic beverages and small nonmotorized handmade boats. Mutyaba’s growing expertise is likewise easy to explain. He has subject matter knowledge in agriculture, the economy, education, research and planning. Mutyaba, who is the only agricultural economist at UCU, is a testament to understanding how various academic disciplines intersect. He uses information from multiple specialties in his Egerton University (Kenya) doctoral research focused on cage fish farming technologies. The research, entitled “Effect of Information Links and Flow through Social Networks on Smallholder Farmers’ Awareness and Adoption of Cage Fish Technologies in Uganda,” involves new institutional economics, resource economics, social science and aquaculture. Regarding economics, Uganda could make more money in its fishing industry if the country took a lesson from the playbook of China, which is the world’s biggest fish producer. Uganda is geographically only 2.5% the size of China so the Scan this QR code and watch Mutyaba explaining how important his research is Regarding societal relationships, Mutyaba has found that most women and younger people in Uganda quickly embrace new ways of doing things, namely raising fish in cage technologies instead of capture fishing, while older men are reluctant to give up their traditional capture fishing lifestyle. “Wives have a better John Livingstone Mutyaba on Lake Victoria, doing his research volume would never be as great, but water from such lakes as Victoria, Albert, Edward and George covers 18% of the country’s surface. With better planning and implementing cage fish farming technologies, Ugandans would improve their economic standing and reputation for quality fish. “Are you sure you want to eat fish that comes from China?” Mutyaba queried with a chuckle. He referenced China’s seafood that has been under repeated scrutiny for chemical additions that violate safety regulations. He added that with cleaner water and neutral pH levels of Lake Victoria waters, “Our fish tastes better, is better for you and is very unique in the world.” understanding of what is needed to support their families,” Mutyaba said. “The men come in during the selling process but often take the money for themselves. . . or destroy or steal from somebody’s cage.” Fortunately, he added, the Ugandan enforcement of laws for theft and destruction is more frequent to deter these incidences. As with all good researchers, the more he knows, the more Mutyaba wants to know. Among his many mentors and influencers is Thomas Gurley, a former UCU Fulbright Scholar and a research and development director at Aerop Development. With Gurley, now living in South Carolina, the project was on land, focusing on tomatoes. Other projects have involved cassava and livestock, namely cows. Since completing Bishop Senior School (Mukono) and through studies at Bukalasa National Agricultural College, Martyrs University and now Egerton, Kishero brings more Ugandans to coffee table low consumption To Rosette Kishero’s family, coffee is gold. It has put bread on the table. As early as the time when she was in secondary school, Kishero knew the value of the crop for her family’s survival and as gifts to others. Whenever she wanted to gift someone, it was either a coffee seedling or coffee beans. Within the past year, Kishero established a business enterprise that she hopes will enable the whole world to get a feel of the aroma of her family’s coffee. Kishero’s initial idea was to operate a nursery bed, but her mother, Olive, convinced her that it was more lucrative to roast coffee. Thus, Olivaz Coffee, a brand named after Kishero’s mother, was born. “I was inspired by the encouragement from people about our coffee, and yet we had never promoted it as our specific brand,” said Kishero, a third-year student Regarding local sales and despite being the second leading producer of coffee in Africa and the leading exporter in the continent, Ugandans themselves consume less than 10% of the country’s coffee. Despite that statistic, Kishero is hopeful that the aroma and the brand that she is building around coffee will play a role in inviting more people to the beverage table. Olivaz coffee after packaging. Inset is Kishero, a third-year law student at UCU and coffee entrepreneur of Bachelor of Laws at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Prior to joining UCU, Kishero attended Nkokonjeru Primary School and Seeta High School, both in central Uganda. She said naming the coffee-roasting business after her mother was a reward to her for the sweat her mom broke working in the coffee plantation. “We have grown up, studied and lived because of coffee,” said Kishero, of eastern Uganda. “It has been my family’s main source of income. I wanted to keep the legacy.” She says she was introduced to the process of branding coffee by her friends who were already in the business at Wild Coffee Bar. “They are the ones who showed me the way; how to try out roasting, where to find roasters and grinders,” said Kishero. date, they still counsel and guide me.” “To Mutyaba has found learning fascinating. He says that learning and research should be more than about grades and degree attainment. “I hope what I have policymakers, maybe even informs to provide incentives for the more economical cage fishing,” he said. “I hope that my engagement changes the traditional fishing mindset of some locals…that they can see the added market value not just locally but for loading onto trucks to Kenya, the Congo, South Sudan and even exported to the UK.” Within Mutyaba’s hectic schedule and ambitions, God is ever present, he said, quoting his favorite scripture from Joshua 1, verse 5: No one will be able to stand up against you, all the days of your life…I will never leave you not forsake you. (This story is supplemented with two short videos created by students at Uganda Christian University. The lead developer was Jimmy Siyasa, a post-graduate student in the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication. The videos on cage fish farming and voices of farmers about fishing challenges around Lake Victoria are on the Uganda Partners YouTube page.) Kishero started the business with capital of sh500,000 (about $140) that she earned from another business she operated in 2020. She says part of that money was used for buying packaging materials for the coffee. She owns a roasting and grinding machine, but since she lacks expertise in that process, she does the roasting and grinding at another place, where professional roasters take the beans through the “medium roast.” “If I were to roast and grind something, I would do it for home use only,” Kishero explains. “When it comes to my customers, I want to give them top notch coffee. I go to professionals to roast and grind.” The support Kishero got from her family has enabled her business to grow steadily. She says the law degree course that she is pursuing has helped her learn how to start and run a business. “At the time I was beginning my business, we were starting a course unit called Business Association, where we were taught how to operate businesses and companies,” Kishero explains, adding: “So, whenever I got stuck somewhere, I consulted my lecturers and applied the knowledge they gave me to my business.” Time permitting, Kishero hopes to start a Coffee Club before leaving UCU as well as to improve on a marketing plan.

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