Best Farmers 2025: Joan Kantu Elsie emerges best farmer in Western Region
VISION GROUP | HARVEST MONEY | BEST FARMERS | KABAROLE
Joan Kantu Else is an entrepreneur and farmer who creatively combines cultural heritage with modern enterprise. A native of the Toro Kingdom, she proudly embraces her identity as a Mutoro.
At 68, Kantu runs Marakwet Organic Farm, located in Masongora village, Kabarole district.
A professional fashion designer by training, she has transformed her office into a reflection of her values, where bark cloth bags and chocolate products are neatly displayed, symbolising her commitment to organic farming and value addition.
Kantu's journey into farming is rooted in both cultural pride and economic vision. She chose to work with Ficus trees, known for their bark cloth, a traditional Ugandan fabric once declared royal attire by King Mwanga over 700 years ago.
The cloth is also praised for its natural insect-repellent properties. Through her efforts, Kantu continues to inspire others in the community, particularly women and youth, by demonstrating how heritage and modern enterprise can coexist.
“Though I have my parents’ land, I wanted a piece that was truly mine. I bought land, or what we call ekibanja (customary land), in Masongora, purchasing it in small portions. Over time, I acquired more and now own about 170 acres.”
Her farming journey
Kantu explains that she was drawn to farming because Uganda is blessed with fertile land and a favourable climate. In 2016, she founded Marakwet Organic Farm, which produces chocolate under the Cocoa Mata brand. Her agribusiness supports over 500 families through value-added trade in sweet chocolate and bark cloth products.
Kantu is also building a network of clients in and outside Uganda.
She started with planting Ficus natalensis (Omutoma) trees.
Her interest in the tree began after attending a fashion show where bark cloth was showcased.
At the event, a gentleman from Masaka lamented that bark cloth was becoming extinct because no one was planting Ficus trees.
When Kantu read about the deep history of bark cloth in Uganda, she learned that over 700 years ago, King Mwanga declared it the official royal attire. It also has natural insect-repellent properties, bedbugs and mosquitoes cannot survive in it.
Intrigued, she spoke to that gentleman, and he suggested she find Ficus tree seeds. However, by the time she stepped outside, all the seeds had been taken.
Determined, she took his contact and travelled to Masaka, where the locals welcomed her and visited her farm to teach her how to plant and nurture Ficus natalensis.
Kantu chose Ficus trees for several reasons. Unlike other trees that are cut down, with Ficus you simply remove the bark layer, and after some time, it regenerates, allowing you to harvest bark cloth again.
Secondly, when the leaves fall, they decompose, enriching the soil with essential nutrients, making Ficus an excellent tree for environmental sustainability. This helps nourish the soil, enrich it with nitrogen and help it retain moisture.
Whenever Kantu visits her farm, her first stop is always the mother Ficus trees, where she enjoys the fresh air and inspects them to ensure they are in perfect health.
Her farm has become an academy of sorts, attracting people from all walks of life to learn about the different species of Ficus trees and how to make barkcloth. The varieties grown on her farm include Namweruka, Mmeembe, Enserere and Butana.
These species are distinguished by their leaf shape, durability, texture and the shade of bark cloth they produce.
Kantu’s boundaries are lined with Ficus trees, and many more are integrated into her cocoa gardens.
She has 200 trees on her farm, and many of them are already yielding bark cloth for commercial use.
This is the tenth year running that Vision Group, together with the Embassy of the Netherlands, KLM Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, are running the Best Farmers competition. The 2025 competition run from March to November, culminating in today’s awards ceremony.