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 UGANDA BEST FARMERS AWARDS 2023 

Live reporting & editing by Joseph Kizza
Pictures taken by Mpalanyi Ssentongo & Maria Wamala
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 7:12 PM      |    It's a wrap

Time to wrap this up with group photos and closing formalities.

A huge congratulations to all the 13 winners of 2023.

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 7:06 PM      |    Ed. 8 of Harvest Money Magazine launched

Next up, the launch of the eighth (8th) edition of the Harvest Money Magazine, which is aptly themed: Farming as a business.

"The books are available at sh20,000," says emcee Grace Bayiga, reminding guests that "you can own a copy now as you leave Vision Group".

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 7:04 PM      |    'Farming is the future'

Agriculture ministry PS Gen. Kasura's special message to the youth is that farming is profitable, it is fun and sexy, it is smart and it is the future.

On the concerns raised earlier about taxation, he urges farmers to lobby their political representatives.

He acknowledges that extension workers are very important in the agricultural value chain.

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 6:41 PM      |    'Project making farming popular'

Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama, the permanent secretary of the agriculture ministry, is representing the chief guest, agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze.

He starts off by saying that "we should thank God and be grateful for this day", going on to thank the organizers, sponsors and the farmers themselves.

The agriculture ministry PS says that to reward the best farmers on the land is to reward the core of Uganda's livelihood.

He says that through the power of example, the Best Farmers competition helps to improve household incomes and also makes farming popular.

Gen. Kasura particularly hails Vision Group for its role in transforming the agricultural sector in Uganda, and says he enjoys one of its productions, Harvest Money Magazine, which features a wide variety of stories on Uganda's agriculture.

"Farming is the foundation of national development," he says.

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 6:32 PM      |    And the 10 winners are...

 BREAKING NEWS 

Here they are, including the overall winner, Martin Kananura, from Mbarara city in western Uganda, who ticked all the boxes, according to chief judge Victoria Ssekitoleko.

 OVERALL WINNER 

Martin Kananura

After 37 years as a teacher, in 2020 Martin Kananura retired from the classroom to farming. His enterprise is named Rwenjeru Agro-Tourism Demonstration and Training Farm and sits on 200 acres in Rwenjeru parish, Mbarara city.

Kananura's farm has over 200 head of cattle, 40 acres of banana, horticulture, more than 150 goats, 50 sheep, 200 rabbits, an apiary and fish farming.

He is rewarded with sh50 million.

 FIRST RUNNER-UP 

Henry Lugolobi

From 2020, Henry Lugolobi opted to specialize in dairy farming with 35 cows and growing pastures. All the cows were born on the farm.

He is rewarded with sh30 million.

 SECOND RUNNER-UP 

Ruta Sebastian Ngambwa

Ruta Sebastian Ngambwa's farm, Prime Agro Uganda Limited, in Luwero district, sits on 300 acres. It has 250 head of cattle and he also grows matooke (bananas).

Ngambwa’s farm is well-organized and mechanized with tractors and planters, among others. Under the breeding arm, the farm sells high quality heifers and in-calf cows with the price depending on age and size.

For higher returns, the farm practises value addition and making ghee.

He is rewarded with sh20 million.

The rest of the seven winners get to share sh50 million. The cash prizes are all courtesy of dfcu Bank Uganda.

WEST 

Phoebe Kusiima Kagambe

Phoebe Kusiima Kagambe's farm sits on 138 acres and has 74 cows, 240 goats, 10 acres of bananas and 24 acres of coffee.

Other enterprises include 10 acres of cocoa, 10 acres of maize, 10 acres of napier grass and two acres of vanilla. The farm is located in Rwentale-Kamata village, Kyarusozi sub-county Kyenjojo district.

 MID-EAST 

Paul Owor

Paul Owor's dairy farm is located in Lwala, Siwa sub-county in Tororo district with 10 animals.

 EAST 

Patrick Kyakulaga

Patrick Kyakulaga has a 20-acre farm in Buwongo village, Nakalama sub-county of Iganga district on which he practises agroforestry, dairy farming as well as keeping goats and poultry.

 NORTH-EAST 

Agnes Akello

Agnes Akello started her poultry enterprise in 2018 and named it Quality York Farm. The farm occupies two-and-a-half acres and is fenced with a chain link to ensure security.

 MID-NORTH 

Fiona Birungi Acayo

Fiona Birungi Acayo's enterprise is named Dewilos Fish Farm, with her as the chief executive officer. By the end of 2022, the farm had 21 ponds with catfish and tilapia.

 NORTH 

Bosco Otto

Bosco Otto, 68, is a coffee farmer in Guna village, Abwoch parish in Ongako sub-county, Omoro district and grows coffee on a mixed farm.

His farm sits on 10 acres of ancestral land, where he started planting his coffee in the year 2000 with seedlings he got from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and in between inter-crops it with bananas. He also plants other crops, such as avocado, pine trees, coffee seedlings, as well as grazing cows and goats.

 WEST NILE 

Simon Amajuru Madraru

Simon Amajuru Madraru has 3,600 broilers. On average, he earns at least sh16 million every three weeks after selling an average of 800 birds.

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 6:17 PM      |    Youth category winners

 BREAKING NEWS 

And now the three special youth category winners are announced. Here they are:

 YOUTH 

Muhawiyah Mukasa

Muhawiyah Mukasa's enterprise, Kapeeka Agro and Livestock Farm, sits on 370 acres on which he grows dragon fruit, mangoes on 50 acres, oranges on 22 acres, pineapples on 20 acres as well as 30,000 rabbits and goats.

He also grows food crops and pastures for the rabbits and goats.

 YOUTH 

Solomon Moses Odong

Solomon Moses Odong's sorghum field sits on 25 acres and he is one of the thousands of farmers growing sorghum for sale to Uganda Breweries Ltd.

 YOUTH 

Dr Pamela Bakkabulindi

Dr Pamela Bakkabulindi's farm is located in Kaganja-Nakifuma and Kabembe in Mukono district.

In 2018, she had savings of sh30 million, which she used to buy her first greenhouse at sh23 million and the rest catered for seed, other inputs and paying workers. She started with yellow and sweet pepper. Today, she has three greenhouses.

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 6:12 PM      |    Iganga SSS, Gayaza High honoured

Denis Kabiito, from the Federation of Young Farmers, is a youth recognized for promoting agriculture in Uganda.

Iganga Senior Secondary School and Gayaza High School are the two schools recognized for their work in promoting agriculture in the country.

Gayaza High School has been organizing the School Farm Camp for the last couple of years.

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 6:05 PM      |    'Competition has gone up'

Chief judge Ssekitoleko says the "level of competition has gone up".

For the 2023 competition, some 600 farmers were nominated, about 200 were shortlisted and 100 were profiled.

She underlines that the three youth winners for this year competed in the general competition, adding that there was no special competition for the young people.

"You have to throw in what you have."

Ssekitoleko goes on to thank the organizers (Vision Group) and sponsors as well as her fellow judges.

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 5:56 PM      |    Chief judge shares farmers' feedback

The chief judge, Victoria Ssekitoleko, presents her report, sharing what they found out during the months of profile the nominated farmers across the country.

She shares feedback from the various farmers visited. Some of the sticking concerns include poor roads that make transportation difficult, especially in remote areas, as well as high cost of internet and inability to afford extension services.

"Most of the roads leading to the best farmers that you are going to see today are very bad. Unfortunately, this impacts value addition."

However, Ssekitoleko adds that she was pleased to observe that they are more commercial farmers across the country, despite the existing challenges.

Another observation is that there were fewer farmers in northern Uganda but on a bright note, most of the competitors were female. Central Uganda had the highest number os farmers and "all of them were well educated, some of them had PhDs".

She urges Vision Group to pay more attention to Acholi sub-region in the 2024 competition.

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 5:38 PM      |    'Project is a shining example'

The Ambassador of the Netherlands to Uganda, Karin Boven, says together with all the co-sponspors, "we are building a critical mass of model famers in Uganda, which keeps increasing every year".

"Next year, 2024, we shall celebrate 10 years of this Best Farmers programme and looking back, I am proud to say that since its formation, the Best Farmers programme continues to be a shining example of demonstrating that agriculture transformation in Uganda is very possible and that farming is a profitable and rewarding business," she says.

"And we know that the successful stories of the previous Best Farmers winners have played a significant role in inspiring new farmers, especially the youth, to further look at farming as a profitable business."

Boven says "we are here to celebrate the resilience and hard work of the winners and every Ugandan farmer out there who sustains the agricultural food sector in this country".

She says today's awards ceremony should remind "all of us what farmers go through: it is all about passion, hard work, dedication, perseverance, commitment, finance but also knowledge, innovation and business skills".

She goes on to offer "four key reasons" why the Embassy of Netherlands in Uganda continues to support this farmers programme.

▪️ The Netherlands Embassy supports Uganda's agricultural transformation agenda as emphasized in Vision 2040 through its many projects in different regions across Uganda.

▪️ Secondly, she says, they believe that by investing in agriculture, foreign incomes increase, jobs are created, exports increase, taxes are paid and the entire economy booms.

▪️ "Thirdly, we continue to be partners in this programme because we believe that a transformed agriculture offers better business opportunities for both Uganda and for the Netherlands," says the ambassador.

▪️ "And fourthly, as you all know, many young people today are leaving rural areas to enter already densely populated cities and towns or even move abroad in search of decent employment and we believe that agriculture holds the key to household wealth and economic development. So, there is a strong need to make agriculture more attractive to the younger generation," explains the ambassador. "Through this Best Farmers programme, we hope that young people will be inspired by successful farmers like the winners of today and that is why a special category for the youth was created in this year's competition."

Boven also thanks the Ugandan government for "the support given to the farmers [through the agriculture ministry]. However, allow me to ask for more".

She urges the government to create "an enabling and conducive business environment for farmers and their agribusinesses", adding that "there is a need to put in more efforts in addressing the challenges and bottlenecks that these farmers are struggling with such as climate change, poor infrastructure and access to markets limited access to finance, weak farmer institutions, to name just a few".

Paying tribute to the partnership of Vision Group and the sponsors, Boven says it is an ideal example of "how different institutions can work together to achieve outstanding results".

She also thanks the panel of "committed and dedicated judges" for their hard work, adding that they are also proud of all the farmers who participated in this year's contest.

"Please remember: taking part in this competition is more important than winning."
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 5:25 PM      |    'Competition changing farmers' lives'

"As KLM, we recognize the hard work put in by the farmers, the sponsors and the judges as we celebrate the achievements of the winners of the 9th Best Farmers competition 2023," says Lukia Otema, the country manager of KLM, one of the sponsors of the farmers contest.

"In Uganda, farming continues to be the backbone of the country and the economy providing employment in large numbers and feeding the country. We also understand — in the background where I come from, which is the aviation — the importance of farming...it creates a lot of exports and also contributes a lot to the aviation cargo business.

Otema adds that "agriculture produce is the leading cargo export out of Entebbe [International Airport]" and it is all done by the farmers".

"Any farmer who is in this competition knows that it changes their lives and it drives value addition. In addition, while the farmers continue adding value to their produce, it is also important to explore opportunities of sustainable farming practices which enable growth without compromising resources of the future.

"We congratulate the winners that will be named later and wish them a very successful and continued fruitful journey as the best farmers of 2023".

'Collective victory'

The sales team leader of Koudijs Nutrition BV (another sponsor), Noël Crombach, also hails the partnership of the various stakeholders that has made this project a success, adding that they are supporting youth engagement in agriculture.

"Koudijs was nominated this year to award the promising youths in agriculture. It is truly an honour to stand before you to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our young farmers in the youth special category of 2023.

"Agriculture, the backbone of our society, has been entrusted into the hands of these inspiring young invidividuals, who embody innovation, resilience and the proven dedication to Uganda and its population.

Crombach says beyond just recognizing them today, "we also gather to encourage them to keep on inspiring the younger youths in the future", adding that they are congratulating not only the youth category winners but all the winners in general.

"Let us remember that the farmer's success is not just an individual success but a collective victory for the entire country. It is a testament to the collaborative spirit that defines our sector: agriculture".

'Without farmers, there is no future'

Charles Mudiwa, the CEO and managing director of dfcu Bank Uganda, thanks all the partners for "supporting production of food and growing the economy".

"As dfcu, we are proud to be supporting farmers. We pride ourselves as the brand that transforms lives and businesses in Uganda and farming is one of our key sectors that we would like to support," he says.

"We believe that without farmers, there is no future and without farmers, there is no food and therefore agriculture is an important part of the economy of Uganda. We, therefore, are committed to supporting agriculture and to supporting farmers.

"And as a demonstration of that work, we have a full department which looks after and manages farmers. Further, we also have a team that supports farmers across the country.

"We believe that supporting farmers is the only way we can be assured of sustainable growth of the economy of Uganda," says Mudiwa, who has previously worked in neighbouring Kenya.

On the perceptions that engaging in agriculture is a risky choice, he says there is an opportunity for dfcu to "demystify this and demonstrate that you can still farm without it creating risk".

"But it requires you to understand how you actually do it. The reason why we have set up a farming division is because that a lot of banks do not understand farmers."

Picking lessons from his previous interactions with farmers in Kenya's Meru, who felt strongly that banks do not understand them, Mudiwa says he applied these lessons here, and "at dfcu, we do understand the farmers".

Mudiwa adds that they have set up an agriculture development centre in partnership with Rabobank, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company, to train farmers.

"We are here to give you capacity, to train you and to give you skills that you require."

On farmers who may want to borrow money but have no collateral, the dfcu Bank chief executive says they have options.

"One, we can finance you by your equipment that you require, for instance a tractor, which is itself collateral.

"When you use land and you afford to buy land, the land is collateral. But also there are other things like contracts that you get, for example, if you are delivering to a supplier, we can use that contract as collateral."

Mudiwa leaves his mark with a humorous parting shot to the farmers.

"Thank you farmers, for making us have the excuse today and celebrate this wonderful moment. And please, it's not every day that you get to fly in KLM, you get to be on TV, and you get free dinner from a bank. Please enjoy it."
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 5:15 PM    |    'You are all winners'

Ndyanabo says that "over 75% of households in Uganda not only engage in agriculture, but they actually depend on agriculture".

"We all want to transform Uganda to the next level. The best, the easiest, the simplest is to work with the farmers," he, adding that if every farmer doubled their income, Uganda's economy would be "unstoppable" as a result of the muliplier effect.

"So this is an appeal that we can do more as a country for agriculture to support them in terms of very many things."

For instance, if there existed an agricultural bank where farmers can access low interest loans.

Ndyanabo says: "As New Vision, because we recognize we are the biggest and most influential media house in the country, we take this as our responsibility as corporate citizens, we believe we need to do this and that is why we put in so much money in the stories that we write, in the space that we provide in the newspapers, the airtime on the radios, on the TV stations and the research that goes into this.

"We think it is worth it. It is costly but we believe it should be done and we pledge to the people in this room and to the whole country that we shall continue to do this."

"Congratulations to those who will be named," says Ndyanabo.

"But think about it: everyone who was nominated was becuase there are people who know them as outstanding farmers. They are already winners and what they need to do if they didn't win this time, they need to make the improvements and they will be winners next time.

"Even if they are not named winners, they will benefit from the improvements.

The Vision Group deputy MD goes on to hail the judges, who "are the best you can have".

"They put in their time. They are so passionate about farming."
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 5:10 PM    |    'Transformational project'

"This [Best Farmers] project is transformational and there are very many testimonies," says Vision Group deputy MD Gervase Ndyanabo, who is keen to underline that it goes beyond awarding the selected farmers.

"We are proud that we are part of this, that we are living in this and for that, we are most grateful to the Netherlands embassy and to our other sponsors."

He goes on to give an anecdote of his initial association with the Dutch. Back in Senior One, their teacher of the French language was a Dutch nun.

"She gave us such a good pronunciation of French. Right now I don't speak French as well as I used to, but my pronunciation still comes out well due to her foundation....she gave a very good impression about the Dutch. Her entire way of doing things, her whole ethic."

Ndyanabo goes on to say that the winning farmers who have previously travelled to the Netherlands "have told us very good stories — ways of scientific farming".

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 4:46 PM   

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, Karin Boven, has arrived.

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 4:27 PM    |    📸 Picture this...

The venue at the Vision Group head office in Kampala has seen a steady flow of invited guests coming in for the Best Farmers Awards 2023 ceremony.

Prof. Ogenga Latigo (right), a former Leader of Opposition in Parliament and now a farmer, is one of the judges who selected the winners that we shall get to know this evening.

Victoria Sekitoleko (below left), is the chief judge. She is seen here interacting with Vision Group deputy managing Director Gervase Ndyanabo.

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 4:14 PM    |    Guests settled

The venue is set and the guests are settling in nicely.

Plenty of happy faces everywhere you turn. And...er....why not?! There is every reason for them to flash their pearly whites.

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 3:54 PM    |    13 winners to fly to the Netherlands

This year's competition was launched at the farm of Dr Emma Naluyima (pictured below) — a 2014 and 2022 winner — in Bwerenga, which is off Entebbe, in March.

Like I mentioned earlier, the contest is sponsored by the Netherlands embassy in Uganda, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, dfcu Bank and Koudjis Nutrition BV.

The 10 picked winners will be rewarded with cash prizes: the overall winner takes home sh50 million, the second gets sh30 million, the third walks away with sh20 million while the remaining seven will share sh50 million.

The three winners in the youth category will travel to the Netherlands but will not receive a cash prize.
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 3:27 PM    |    10 regions, 10 winners

The Best Farmers competition is a nationwide contest, with winners selected from different parts of the country. In fact, it is the first nationwide farmers’ competition established by a media house to raise the profile of agriculture in Uganda.

For this competition, the country has been divided into 10 regions, with each producing one winner.

▪️  South-West (Ankole, Kigezi)   
▪️  West (Bunyoro, Toro, Rwenzururu)
▪️  Central (Buganda minus Greater Kampala districts) 
▪️  East (Busoga) 
▪️  Mid-East (Elgon region: Busia, Tororo, Butaleja,Pallisa, Budaka, Kapchorwa and Bugisu sub-region) 
▪️  North-East (Teso, Karamoja) 
▪️  West Nile (Zombo, Adjumani, Arua, Koboko , Maracha, Nebbi) 
▪️  Northern (Acholi sub-region) 
▪️  Mid-northern (Lango sub-region)  
▪️  Kampala (Greater Kampala: Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono districts)

Three individuals who have promoted youth farming will be recognized.
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 2:56 PM    |    The stage is set

Venue? Check.

It's about time...

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 2:45 PM   

The chief guest of today' awards ceremony will be Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, pictured below speaking at a past engagement.

Also in attendance will be the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, Karin Boven.

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 2:45 PM    |    Winning criteria

When we finally get to know this year's winners, the criteria below are what the judges had to base their decisions on. So if you are prospective best farmer, take note:

▪️  Social impact. The farm must be supporting other farmers to grow, with either knowledge or employment.

▪️  Level of income vis-à-vis size of farm. Production on any size of land. The farm should show clear earnings and expenses. 

▪️  Innovation and technology. Use of any type or kind of technology is an added advantage.

▪️  Conservation practices or environmental management. Farms should not be seen destroying the environment to advance. 

▪️  Application of farming practices. The farmer should be able to explain how they use the various enterprise farming practices at their disposal.

▪️  Book-keeping and financial management. There should be a clear indication of earnings and expenses of the farm.

▪️  Post-harvest management or value addition: The farm should show good post-harvest handling practices, with value addition an added advantage. 

▪️  Diversification. The farm should be able to show integration of the various enterprises.

▪️  Family participation and involvement, as well as agri-skilling for sustainability. Members of the family, be it children or spouse, should be seen to genuinely take part in the running of the farm. 

▪️  Investing in knowledge. The farmer should show how they are developing a knowledge base for the farm. 

▪️  Have integrity and transparency in your farm and business dealings.
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 2:30 PM    |    Size does not matter

For the 2023 competition, profiling of farmers began in March and went on until November. Former agriculture minister Victoria Sekitoleko (pictured below) is the chief judge of this annual contest.

▪️  Choosing a course in agriculture opened doors for Ssekitoleko

According to the judging panel, to pick the winning farmers, they do not consider the size or enterprise on the farm. This should explain why some of the past winners worked on as little as two acres of land.

Instead, the judges put into consideration farm management, knowledge of the enterprises, good environmental practices, record keeping, family involvement in the enterprise, value addition, post-harvest handling and the general cleanliness of the establishment.   

Being innovative also comes in very handy.

The farmers are also asked to be trustful and transparent in their dealings because that is the best way they can sustain their farms. 
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 2:19 PM    |    Have your say 💬

You could be just starting out in farming, a field whose reputation has often been muddied with the 'dirty' tag. But you won't be bogged down by this and are ploughing on with determination, eager to break through.

You may have started small, in your backyard, maybe.

Or you went all out, setting off with a greenhouse to delicately nurture your vegetables.

Whatever the case, you have your own story to tell. It could encourage others who are still nervous to venture into agriculture. Share your experience with the world using the hashstag #BestFarmers2023 or by simply heading 👉🏽 HERE.
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 2:08 PM    |    Netherlands a global agriculture template

The annual Best Farmers competition, started by Vision Group and has been running for nearly a decade now, has seen scores of excelling farmers awarded over the years.

It will not be any different this year, with anotheer 13 best farmers set to join a stellar cast of 95 other past winners.

The Netherlands' cutting-edge technology has turned the northwestern European nation into a major producer and exporter of food.

According to the Washington Post, the country produces four million cows, 13 million pigs and 104 million chickens annually and is Europe's biggest meat exporter, also providing vegetables to much of western Europe.

It is understood that more than half of the land in the Netherlands is used for agriculture.

So, keeping this mind, you would imagine why the country's embassy here in Uganda has been a long-time partner and sponsor of this Best Farmers competition.

With other partners such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, dfcu Bank Uganda and Koudijs Nutrition BV also on board, the winners also get to enjoy an all expenses-paid trip to the Netherlands to learn, interact and share experiences with their Dutch counterparts.

It's unsurprising that they return home armed with a wealth of knowledge and techniques to improve their own projects and those of fellow farmers here in Uganda.

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 2:00 PM    |    Hello and welcome

Believe me or not, a year that started only yesterday is about to end. Time flies, eh?! So we have exactly 17 days left to say goodbye to an eventful 2023 and toss away those old desk calendars. But before we get there, we have got some matter to get out of the way.

Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of today's annual Uganda's Best Farmers Awards 2023 ceremony that is taking place here at the Vision Group office in Kampala.

The event is scheduled to get under way this evening and will be relayed live on Vision Group TVs: Urban TV, Bukedde, TV West, TV East and Wan Luo TV.  Be sure to tune in as the very best in the vast field of farming in Uganda will be awarded for their work.

You can also follow updates on our social media handles, including on X (formerly Twitter), using the hashtag #BestFarmers2023.

Meanwhile, this is what the venue looked like earlier as it was being readied for today's big one.