Pallisa, Uganda | A community savings initiative in Pallisa District has evolved into a thriving poultry enterprise with 290 members, helping households transition from subsistence farming to income-generating agriculture.
The Hatch for Wealth project, founded by social worker and Crane Financial Services Director Emmanuel Oboi, is promoting a savings culture alongside small-scale poultry farming as a pathway to improved household incomes and food security.
Oboi said Bukedi Sub-region, particularly Pallisa District, remains among Uganda’s poorest areas, making mindset change a critical first step towards economic transformation. He explained that the project initially encouraged members to save just UGX 300 daily before introducing poultry farming as a practical enterprise suited to the area’s limited land resources.
According to Oboi, poultry farming offers multiple benefits, including improved household nutrition and a reliable source of income through egg sales, currently fetching about UGX 400 per egg. He noted that the venture is accessible to women, youth, older persons and persons with disabilities because it requires little land and relatively low start-up capital.
Senior poultry trainer Erina Mooka urged farmers to adopt proper poultry management practices to maximise production. She advised keeping 10 broilers per square metre and five to six layers per square metre, ensuring adequate ventilation by opening poultry houses in the morning and maintaining dry litter to minimise bacterial and viral diseases.
Mooka recommended Noiler and Kuroiler breeds for rural farmers, saying the dual-purpose birds provide both eggs and meat, making them more economical than keeping separate broiler and layer breeds. She dismissed the perception that improved chickens consume excessive feed, explaining that an average bird requires only about 60 grammes of feed per day. She also emphasised the importance of maintaining hygiene, drying poultry litter materials, and allowing birds time to scavenge.
She further assured farmers of a ready market for their produce, saying buyers were available even for large quantities of eggs at UGX 400 each.
The training featured testimonies from successful poultry farmers. Peter Okiria of Gogonyo Sub-county said he started with just 10 chickens in 2010 after attending poultry training in Buganda but now keeps about 1,500 birds, producing at least 39 trays of eggs daily while also brooding chicks for sale.
Participants also welcomed the initiative. Betty Adongo said the training had changed her perception that improved chicken breeds require excessive feeding, while Thomas Opus of Omaulon Village in Kibale Town Council said the savings programme had strengthened household financial discipline and reduced domestic conflicts. He revealed plans to sell his goat to expand his poultry enterprise by purchasing 120 one-month-old chicks, expressing confidence that the project would improve his family’s livelihood.