King of Busoga, Uganda, visits the Iowa State Fair to view agriculture in Iowa
It’s not every day that a king visits Iowa. On Monday, His Majesty William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, King of Busoga, Uganda, spent the day at the Iowa State Fair.
His Majesty — along with his personal secretary John Kairu; security/logistics officer Karoli Mwiiru; executive director of Developing Lives, Livelihoods and Nutrition Daniel Kitimbo; and national director of Iowa State University–Uganda Program Dr. Gideon Nadiope — were there to learn about agriculture in Iowa.
Though the Kyabazinga (king) has visited several states in the U.S., this is his first trip to Iowa.
“I'm enjoying the vast knowledge that I'm acquiring from Iowa,” His Majesty said, referring to companies showcasing their programs, agricultural methods and equipment. The Kyabazinga's goal is to share what he’s learned with farmers in his kingdom, as well as those on his own demonstration farm.
Increasing milk production and producing quality milk were of particular interest. “The feeding that enables the cows to have a lot of milk is one of the necessities that I feel I should teach my people, that if you want to have good quality milk production, there is a process especially with the kind of feeds given to the cows, like the corns, which are rich in nutrients, the kind of foods that are grown here, for instance, the different types of grass, and at the same time, the environment that necessitates the cow to be in position to give enough milk.”
Dr. Curtis Youngs, ISU Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods associate director and M.E. Ensminger Endowed Chair of International Animal Agriculture, escorted His Majesty and his delegation around the fair. At the Cattle Barn, they visited the “I Milked a Cow” booth where the King did, indeed, milk a cow — and could at least visually inspect the milk production.
Milking a cow is not new to His Majesty, who has Friesian cows as well as local cattle breeds totaling more than 150 in number on his 250-acre farm. In addition to cattle, there’s an orchard that includes oranges, mangos, pineapple, lemons, cassava and Arabica coffee. It’s an organized, modern farm, with a tractor, sheds, and irrigation system. All of this is important to His Majesty because it’s a teaching or demonstration farm.
“One of the main reasons why I'm having it is I want to demonstrate to the youth culture that through agriculture, one can be in position to be a job creator as number one; two, sustain yourself; and three, agriculture being the backbone of Uganda, it is the way to go for the youth,” His Majesty said, adding that the majority of the population in Uganda is involved in agriculture and about 75% of the population are youth.
His Majesty William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV and his delegation are in Iowa to visit Iowa State University which, through its Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, has agriculture, nutrition, farming and educational programs in Kamuli in the Busoga Sub-Region. The Busoga Kingdom, which has approximately 7 million people and is the second largest kingdom in Uganda, has a partnership and exchange program with ISU.
Though the purpose of the visit was educational, they couldn’t leave without experiencing a couple of Iowa State Fair traditions. One was seeing the butter cow. Another was tasting the food.
Since His Majesty had never heard of elephant ears, he decided to try them.
"It's a new taste, given the fact that in African culture, in Uganda, you don't have that kind of food," His Majesty said regarding the elephant ears. “It's a new experience. Whenever you travel, it's always good to adventure and try different kinds of culture.”
Rachelle Chase is an author and an opinion columnist, who's also launched a new column, Trailblazers & Trendsetters, at the Des Moines Register. Follow Rachelle at facebook.com/rachelle.chase.author or email her at rchase@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: King of Busoga, Uganda, visits Iowa for first time, stops at the fair
