Farming in the highlands comes with significant challenges and it’s tougher for women, yet they have to soldier on every day for years.
Mercy Ainembabazi from Kabale district, Gorretti Kabugho from Ntoroko and Annet Nyiramutuzo from Kisoro district have persevered through it all to become successful farmers.
The trio attended the Harvest Money expo 2025 at Mandela National Stadium in Namboole, Wakiso district and shared their experiences with RITAH MUKASA.
Women work extra hard
Picture a mother climbing a steep slope in the morning, with a baby strapped on her back, another in the hand, a hoe on her shoulder and a saucepan on the head.
Then, in the evening, on that load, add firewood and a jerry can of water on the head as she descends the slope back home.
That has been Gorretti Kabugho’s life for over 20 years. The 42-year-old is secretary for Karugutu Sub-county Women SACCOS, which brings together over 80 women farmers in Karugutu, Ntoroko district, a highland area. The women are engaged in farming and agribusiness. They grow and sell rice, maize and beans.
With support from the Common Ground project, in 2023, Kabugho says, they opened a factory and started adding value to their produce.
For example, they now process, pack and sell maize and cassava flour plus rice to different shops around the district and beyond.
There is still more; they run a saving scheme worth sh40m and each share is worth sh40,000, but also, members save weekly, starting from sh10,000. The SACCOS started 16 years ago, and Kabugho says it has impacted them significantly.
They are now able to educate their children and start and sustain small businesses, thanks to the savings and loans they get.
She is quick to add: “Members can access their savings any time, plus loans of up to sh5m.”
With that, members start and sustain businesses, including grocery stalls, restaurants and retail shops.
Most importantly, Kabugho points out that they also enjoy blissful marriages, because they work together with their husbands.
‘‘Life was hard before. Our men would fold hands as we struggled to prepare the land, plant, weed and harvest. They would come out to sell our produce and waste the money in bars. Others would use the money to marry more women. But things have since changed,” she says, adding that they also opened up the SACCOS to their husbands and some are now members of the saving scheme.
Challenges
Flipping the coin, however, the milestones don’t go without challenges.
Kabugho says farming on the highlands can be daunting. For example, severe soil erosion washes away their crops during heavy rains, yet they also grapple with limited access to water for irrigation during the dry seasons. You will find women climbing steep hills with jerry cans of water to irrigate.
Also, land fragmentation hinders large-scale farming and they lack good seeds and pesticides as well. Soil erosion threatens agricultural productivity and land sustainability, but they plant trees to control it. Away from that, at the Harvest Money Expo, Kabugho was in the Common Ground project stall, where she showcased SACCOS products, including packed maize and cassava flour, plus rice in different measurements.
She says: “People embraced and bought our products. The expo is transformative. I visited other farmers and learnt a lot that I will share with members back home to improve our gardens. I don’t regret investing time and money in this expo.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Annet Nyiramutuzo says farming on steep slopes is hard, adding that some women bear the burden alone. ‘
‘Women go through a lot when transplanting, only for the rains to wash away their gardens. And when it’s dry, they have to work double, carrying water on their heads up the hills,’’. she notes.
My produce sold out
Just like Kabugho, Nyiramutuzo has also mastered the art of cultivating on the highlands successfully.
She grows Irish potatoes and onions in Kibande village, Kisoro district.
Nyiramutuzo displayed different varieties of onions and Irish potatoes at her stall and they all sold out. Every year, she makes no less than sh10m profit from her garden.
Nyiramutuzo, who is also the deputy chairperson of Kanaba Onions Farmers Cooperative Society Limited, an umbrella for 160 farmers, 120 women and 40 men. They save and access loans for investment.
She says the group started in 2022 with 47 members and has since grown to cover the entire sub-county, including farmers, who cultivate in the valleys.
Aside from the onions, Nyiramutuzo also grows Irish potatoes and beans for sale.
She lauds her husband for supporting her all the way. Since he is a member of the co-operative, she says they work together to till the slopes, plant, harvest, sell and plan for the proceeds together.
Before joining the co-operative, most women had no rights over their harvest, and the ones who were lucky would be exploited by the middlemen who bought at low prices.
“The co-operative has helped us. Women used to farm and men would wait to sell off the harvest, but today, we are enlightened and the men have joined us,” Nyiramutuzo says.
“We save and access loans of up to sh13m. Our shares are at sh10,000 each,” she adds.
Through the co-operative, members receive high- yielding seeds, access to quality inputs and harvesting sacks to ensure the safety of their produce.
Meanwhile, the co-operative doesn’t entirely depend on the members’ savings and shares to grow. Instead, they take out low-interest loans (capital) from financial institutions, which they lend out to farmers at a reasonable interest.
About the expo, Nyiramutuzo testifies that she made money, received huge orders for onions and Irish potatoes and grew her network as well.
She visited the different stalls and interacted with farmers. Of all, she fell in love with mushroom-growing. Nyiramutuzo adopted the idea and good enough, she says the weather is conducive, yet this project doesn’t need much space.
I will never look for a job
Last year, Mercy Ainembabazi graduated with a bachelors in agribusiness management from Bishop Stuart University, and she says, she is not looking for job like many of her colleagues.
Self-employment in agriculture has always been her dream and she has already achieved it. Last year alone, Ainembabazi made sh10m from her garden, but her friend, another young farmer, got sh20m.
Ainembabazi, who grows onions, is the marketing officer for Kigezi Farmers’ Co-operative, which has more than 100 members in Kabale district.
She has so far saved sh6m with the co-operative.
“Agriculture is my blood, and I have loved it since childhood. My parents are primary school teachers, but they are also successful farmers,” Ainembabazi says.
Her parents inspire her greatly, but most importantly, they give her all the support she needs.
For example, they paid part of her tuition and, at the same time, offered her two acres of land where she could grow her onions.
Ainembabazi says she raised the other part of tuition from her garden. That’s not all. Whenever she runs out of capital, they lend her money, which she returns after selling her produce.
Her parents grow Irish potatoes and onions. She also has three siblings and her elder brother is also a successful maize grower and trader.
On why she chose to grow onions, Ainembabazi says they are profitable, easy to grow in the highland areas and the market is readily available.
To benefit from agriculture, she says, the farmer has to have passion for what they do. They also be present to ensure the hired labour does the right thing.
Ainembabazi hails the co-operative for transforming the lives of people in her village. They are assured of market and better prices.
Members sell collectively to the different parts of the country and beyond to Kenya and Rwanda. Also, they have access to free knowledge of how to cultivate on the highlands and to start and grow agribusinesses.
About the expo, Ainembabazi says: “This is has been my first time to attend. I have got exposure and knowledge from other farmers. I want to get into partnerships for export and value addition.”
Common ground project
It is a four-year (2022- 2026) project aimed at building 150,000 resilient smallholder households in the highlands of Uganda, including Rwenzori (Ntoroko and Bunyangabu), Kigezi (Kabale, Rubanda and Kisoro) and Bududa in Elgon.
It is based on sustainable farming systems, restored watersheds and improved marketing opportunities.
The Wageningen Environmental Research project is implemented by Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda, with funding from the Netherlands embassy in Kampala.
Andrew Masinde, the communications officer, also aims to build collaboration between farmers and communities, all while fostering resilience-based stewardship through an interrelated set of activities. That way, they boost farmers’ motivation, resilience, and stewardship.
