World Bank officials hail Isingiro farmer for boosting Uganda’s food security

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World Bank officials have lauded farmer and entrepreneur Betty Kasabiti Mbaziira for her role in strengthening Uganda’s food security.

This followed a high-profile a high‑profile visit to her AWA Foods Farm in Rwembogo cell, Masha sub‑county, Isingiro district.

Led by Varalakshmi Vemuru, the practice manager for social development operations in east and southern Africa, the delegation described Mbaziira’s farm as a model enterprise.

The farm is set to benefit from a government‑backed Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project grant.

Other officials included John Ssengendo, the project coordinator for GROW under the gender ministry, and Serena Cavichi, the senior social development specialist and task team lead.

The GROW Project

GROW project is funded by World Bank and implemented by the gender ministry. It targets 60,000 female‑owned enterprises, 280,000 women entrepreneurs and employees, and 1.6 million indirect beneficiaries.

Officials praised Mbaziira’s resilience in promoting sustainable farming and value addition, noting her farm’s contribution to Uganda’s food basket and community education.

Speaking to journalists, Ssengendo said the visit was part of identifying host enterprises.

“This is the value addition the President has been talking about; helping Uganda grow ten-fold in 10 years. AWA Foods is one of the value chains we are supporting,” he said.

Supporting women, refugees

Ssengendo revealed that GROW has signed a memorandum of understanding with AWA Foods to mentor women, including refugees from Nakivale settlement with hands‑on skills.

“Beyond loans, people need to learn the know‑how. These are women already in value addition who will skill others,” he noted.

AWA Foods is set to receive sh540m, a grant awarded by the President Yoweri Museveni on Labour Day, to expand value addition capacity and improve quality assurance.

Officials highlighted Mbaziira’s 20‑year journey of learning and compliance with the agriculture ministry and Uganda National Bureau of Standards, noting her readiness to scale.

Training 497 Women

The work‑based GROW programme has already selected 497 women in its first cohort, involved in 17 enterprises ranging from livestock to crop farming.

“We will help women across the country, especially in rural districts and refugee‑hosting areas, to strengthen value addition,” Ssengendo said.

Mbaziira welcomes visit

Mbaziira welcomed the World Bank visit, saying it added value to her farming journey.

“Hosting World Bank officials shows we are not selfish. We share information and have made our farm a common user facility,” she said.

She said AWA Foods had relied on rudimentary methods but the grant will expand production to 3,000 units per day from 500. By turning her facility into a host centre for other dairy farmers, she hopes to improve processing, packaging, and sanitary practices.

“The grant will help us scale, improve standards, and build a centre of excellence.”

Fact file

Betty Kasabiti Mbaziira was the 2018 overall winner of the New Vision Best Farmers Award, the first woman to win since the competition began in 2014.

Born in a cattle‑keeping family, she started farming with 30 cows gifted at her wedding. Over time, her farm grew into a processing hub producing yoghurt, cheese and ghee for markets across Uganda.

Today, AWA Foods has grown from just a farm, to now processing milk into yoghurt, cheese and ghee which has attracted markets all over the country