When the New Visionwas born in March 1986, Uganda was under rehabilitation. Almost every sector, including agriculture, had been destroyed by war.

To contribute to the re-development of agriculture, the New Vision started running feature stories on farming. It introduced a farming page in the early 1990s.

One of the reasons for introducing farming coverage lay in the importance of agriculture. Agriculture is the mainstay of Uganda’s economy. About 85% of our population live in rural areas and they eke a living through subsistence farming, with little access to information.

It is for this reason that the New Vision newspaper and all Vision Group platforms emphasise journalism that promotes agriculture. By the late 1990s, it had spread to two pages, running every Wednesday.

Robert Kabushenga(R) CEO Vision Group looks on as the Dutch Ambassador Alphons Henneken signs a Copy of the Harvest Money Book during the Launch of the Best Farmers Competition 2015 at Dr. Emma Naluyima’s Farm in Bwelenga off Entebbe

The lead writer for the farming pages then was award winner, Patrick Luganda. He won the prestigious Boerma Journalist awards given by the Food and Agriculture Organisation to the best journalists in agriculture reporting.

In 2006, Bukedde started running two farming pages every week. Other platforms followed suit. 
 

Expanding coverage

In December 2008, Vision Group took a decision to devote more space to farming stories. The paper run stories of model farmers from across the country every working day for three months.

A team of reporters traversed the country writing stories of model farmers. At least 100 farmers were profiled during the project. A decision was then taken to continue running a two-page profile weekly in the business section, while maintaining two pages under the features section.

In December 2010, a pull-out that has changed the face of farming reporting in the region was born. For the first time in East Africa, a major newspaper allocated eight pages to agriculture weekly.


It was also the first eight-page farming pull-out in a daily newspaper in Africa. It was called Harvest Money. “It carried a farmer’s profile, a farming feature, plus several farming tips,” Kaija says.

(L-R) Washington Mugerwa Dr. Naluyima’s husband, The Dutch Ambassador Alphons Hennekens Paul Van Apeldoorn, Chief Of Business DFCU Bank, Dr. Emma Naluyima who was among the top ten best farmers during the 2014 best farmer’s awards, Robert Kabushenga CEO Vision Group and Dick Van Nieuwenhuyzen, Country Manager KLM Airlines

So great was the impact of this pull-out that all major media houses in Uganda, as well as Kenya and Tanzania, emulated it. Vision Group’s wide coverage of agriculture has impacted the sector positively.

Dr Samuel Mugasi, the National Agricultural Advisory Services’ (NAADS) executive director, says Vision Group agriculture pullouts have inspired thousands of Ugandans back to the farm.

“There are many people who had abandoned farming and others who had never thought of practising it. However, Harvest Money has taken them back to the farm,” he says.

Mugasi adds that the farming pull-outs have also complemented the Government’s extension services. (NAADS) has, through the years, given awards to Vision Group farming reporters. One of the outreach activities that Harvest Money started was organising farming skills training for readers.

In four years, Harvest Money has organised at least 20 trainings countrywide. Each of these attracts about 300 participants. Other Vision Group platforms, for example, Enkumbi Terimba in Bukedde, have also carried out similar activities.

The wide farming coverage has also helped agriculture researchers disseminate their findings, according to Dr Godfrey Asea, the director of the National Crops Resources Resource Institute.

“When a new technology is created, it is through the media that farmers, the actual beneficiaries, get to know about it. We will continue working with Vision Group for this reason,” Asea said.

The coverage has helped individuals and groups engaged in agriculture get support. An example of these is the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), an umbrella body of farmers. “Vision Group’s farming platforms are our leading partners in disseminating farming news and reaching out to farmers,” says Sunday Emmanuel, the secretary general of the Uganda National Farmers Federation.

Recognition

Vision Group has won many awards for her support to the agriculture sector. One of the awards was the Farm power@50 Media awards. The awards, organised by the East and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF) and the Food Rights Alliance (FRA), were given to New Vision, Bukedde TV and Bukedde Radio.

Handing over the awards, Agnes Kirabo, the co-ordinator of Food Rights Alliance, said New Vision was honoured for its content on agriculture that features in Harvest Money and the agricultural shows on Bukedde radio and TV.

“The awards are in recognition for the Vision Group efforts in promoting the agricultural sector,” she said at the function at Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala. Kirabo said the awards were under the theme; ‘ The power of the media in grooming a vibrant agricultural sector’ . Similar awards have over the years, come from groups like UNFFE, NAADS and Ministry of Agriculture.

Best farmers competition

In 2014, Vision Group, in collaboration with the Royal Dutch Embassy, dfcu Bank and KLM Airlines, started the now popular Best Farmers competition.

Every week, the profiles are run in all Vision Group platforms. These include New Vision (Harvest Money) Enkumbi Terimba (Bukedde— every Monday), on both TVWest and Orumuri, in Etop, Rupiny, Arua One radio, UrbanTV and Etop radio.

“Of all the projects that Vision Group has done, the Best Farmer’s competition had the greatest impact,” says Robert Kabushenga, Vision Group’s chief executive officer. Currently in its third year, at least 3,000 farmers countrywide have been nominated.

Robert Kabushenga(R) CEO Vision Group listens to the Dutch Ambassador Alphons Henneken during the Launch of the Best Farmers Competition 2015. at Dr. Emma Naluyima’s farm in Bwelenga off Entebbe Road

Of these, at least 800 have had their profiles run on one or two of the Vision Group platforms. The 2014 best farmers received their awards, including visiting the Netherlands in April 2015. Their farming practices have changed too. 

Patrick Iga, the executive director of FACOM, was the first winner of the competition. The award, which came with sh50m in form of farm implements and a learning trip to the Netherlands, has seen Iga turn into a farming celebrity.

“You may not even know how what you are doing has impacted this country,” says Dr Tonny Kidega, the 2015 best farmer. The impact of the farming pullouts can be gauged by the amount of attention some of the farmers profiled receive.

“Ever since I was profiled in the best farmers’ competition in 2014, over 3,000 farmers have visited my farm to learn from my experience,” says Dr Jolly Kabirizi, a finalist in the 2014 competition. Kabirizi says had it not been for her profile in Vision Group, the farmers would not have known about her.

“These stories have worked to bridge the gap created by a lack of extension services in the country,” she says. Joel Cherop, the winner from the mid-east in 2014, has also gone places ever since he won. “Because of that exposure, I won another award under the Tony Elumelo Foundation that has helped me set up an irrigation system on my farm in Kapenguria,” he says.