‘I want to multiply more of the SimSim 2 variety starting this year’- Olot David

Mr. Olot David is an oil seeds farmer from Agweng Sub-county in Lira District. He is 62 years old and his wife, Hellen Akullu is 52 years old. The couple is blessed with 10 surviving children.

As a prominent oil seed farmer, Mr. Olot was one of the 8 host farmers selected to participate in the experimental trials. He has embraced the new technologies extended to him through the Sesame Project to increase his yield.

After partaking in the trial experiments, Mr. Olot this year plans to grow more of the Simsim 2 (Sesim 2) variety on his 5acre piece of land in Agweng. He accounts his observations of the crop on the field; “Sesim 2 performed very well in the field. The variety has given good yield compared to the others” remarks Olot.

The trial experiments extended to him through AfrII’s Sesame Project dubbed ‘Stabilizing Sesame Yields and Production in the Lango region, Northern Uganda’ have helped him appreciate the use of fertilizer for higher yields.

“This Sesim 2 on which fertilizer was applied is really good and has high tolerance to pests and diseases, and also when sprayed, it gives a better yield” adds Olot. “When I weighed, the yield samples of the Sesim 2 variety, showed that the yield on which fertilizer was applied was 3.5 kgs, while that on which no fertilizer was applied weighed 2.9kgs which proves the need to multiply more of this variety” adds Olot.

The money he will earn from the harvest will be used for school fees and also acquiring more land to expand his farming plans. He also plans to supply good seed to his fellow farmers within and across the region.

He advised fellow Oil Seed farmers to practice good agronomic practices like planting their seeds in rows for this helps in easy weeding, and also gives reasonable yield. On adoption of improved varieties, he further advised them to concentrate on farming improved seed rather than the local variety as this is badly affected by drought, and also pests and diseases like gall midge and Webworm.

Apart from Simsim (Sesame), Mr. Olot also farms other crops like Maize, Soya Beans, and Sunflower. He has been actively engaged in farming for 42 years and this has seen him acquire land in Lira town on which he constructed 2 buildings, one of which is used for rentals. He also acquired land in Agweng town and constructed a building that houses his Agro-Input Dealers business.

He is currently the Chairperson of Agweng Farmers Cooperative Society that comprises 1228 farmers of which 30% are women.