Prof. Kibwika and his wife receiving their award from Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for Agriculture. They emerged as overall winners of the 2024 Best Farmers Competition, supported by dfcu Bank
Prof. Paul Kibwika is an Associate Professor in the Department of Extension and Innovation Studies at Makerere University’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is also a practising farmer and, together with his wife, runs Emerge Integrated Farm in Luwero District. His research focuses on agricultural extension, innovation systems and transformative learning to empower farmers and local organisations.
In 2024, Prof. Kibwika and his wife emerged as overall winners of the Best Farmers Competition, supported by dfcu Bank. In an interview with Business Focus, he spoke about farming as a business, the power of value addition, and why financing remains one of agriculture’s biggest barriers to growth in Uganda.
Q: Outside your academic profession and before you became widely known as a farmer, what were you doing?
A: I actually studied agriculture from the very beginning. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension, and later earned a PhD in Social Science.
Q: Did that academic background inspire you to go into farming?
A: Not necessarily. Not everyone who studies agriculture ends up practicing it. For me, it is about passion — a real love for agriculture. I also grew up around farming, so it was something familiar to me, even though I knew it would not be easy.
Q: Your farm keeps layers, broilers and cattle. How do you manage all of this successfully?
A: Our farm is called Emerge Integrated Farm, and the word “integrated” is very important. It refers not just to having multiple enterprises, but also to how these enterprises support one another. The poultry, livestock and crops are connected. What one enterprise produces can benefit another. This integration makes the system more efficient, sustainable and interesting than running a single enterprise.
Q: What kind of technology or practices do you use for disease control and feed formulation?
A: We formulate most of our feed ourselves. We buy the ingredients — maize, maize bran and concentrates — and mix the poultry feed on the farm. For the goats and cattle, we mainly practice open grazing on natural pastures. However, we supplement the milking animals with silage and hay to ensure adequate nutrition.
Q: Do you engage in value addition at the farm?
A: Yes, and that is one of the areas we are now most known for. We grow fruits, mainly mangoes and passion fruits. Like many farmers, we struggled with market challenges because these fruits are seasonal. When they flood the market, prices fall drastically and much produce goes to waste. To solve this, we ventured into value addition. My wife trained at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, and together we developed juice products from mango and passion fruit. We also make yoghurt from our milk. Since we started adding value, demand has exceeded our own production capacity. We now buy fruits and milk from neighbouring farmers and sometimes from the market. Value addition has completely transformed our business.
Q: Many farmers struggle to access finance. What has your experience been?
A: Access to finance is one of the biggest challenges facing farmers. Farming is a business that requires capital, but it is very different from trading in merchandise. In agriculture, you invest without certainty of what you will harvest. We rely heavily on nature — rainfall, weather patterns and environmental conditions — which are beyond our control. Because of this risk, financial institutions are often hesitant to fund agriculture. Even farmers themselves are unsure whether they will manage to repay loans. Yet farming is not just about profit; it is also a public good because we produce food for the entire population. Ironically, when the Bank of Uganda reports that inflation has been contained, it is often because food is available and affordable. But no one stops to ask: where does this food come from? Who produces it? And what support do they need? Farmers’ contributions to the economy are largely unrecognized. The government is reluctant to talk about subsidies, yet the economy cannot function without agriculture. Many farmers sacrifice their resources, and some even lose their investments, just so the country can eat.
Q: How did you learn about the Best Farmer Competition?
A: We often receive visitors at the farm. One visitor was very impressed with what we were doing and asked whether we had ever participated in the Best Farmers Competition. We had not even considered it; our goal was never to compete, just to farm well. He insisted on nominating us and asked us to write a profile of our farm, which we did. Later, we were informed that we had been selected to participate. Journalists from New Vision came to profile the farm, took photos and videos, and submitted their reports to the judges. The judges arrived for assessment with very little notice. In fact, my wife and I were in Kampala when they called saying they would arrive at the farm by 2pm. We rushed to Luwero and arrived almost at the same time as the judges. Whatever they found is exactly what they assessed — there had been no special preparation. Later, we were told we had won an award, but we did not know which one. When we attended the ceremony, we were surprised and excited to learn that we were the overall national winners for 2024.
Q: Which category did your farm win?
A: We emerged as the overall national winner.
Q: Has the exposure added value to your farm?
A: Absolutely. From the moment the announcement was made, we started receiving calls from people who wanted to visit and learn from us. Up to today, we regularly host farmers, students and agripreneurs who come for exposure and training. The study tour to the Netherlands added an international dimension to this exposure. But even before that, the national recognition was significant. Today, even walking around town, people recognise us — and that has been very humbling. We thank dfcu bank for sponsoring the competition and the trip to the Netherlands.
Q: Do you plan to leverage this recognition to grow the farm further?
A: Yes, without a doubt. Recognition is an honour, but it is also a responsibility. Now that we have been called the best, we must continue to prove ourselves. The bigger challenge is maintaining that standard and continuing to innovate and improve. For us, it is no longer just about winning; it is about consistency, growth, learning and setting an example that others can trust and follow.
Q: What message do you have for policymakers and financial institutions regarding support for agribusiness?
A: Policymakers need to study more on how the economy works and what truly stabilizes it. Agriculture is a major contributor to economic stability because it ensures food security and keeps prices under control. Over 80% of Ugandans depend on agriculture for their livelihood, yet investment in the sector does not reflect that reality. Farmers produce food without much government support, yet their role is rarely acknowledged.
Financial institutions are profit-driven organisations, and that is understandable. If policies do not reduce the risk of agricultural lending, banks will naturally avoid it. The solution begins with government providing incentives and support mechanisms that encourage banks to lend to farmers at manageable interest rates. Currently, some loans require repayment within a month — which is unrealistic in agriculture. No farming enterprise can generate a return in such a short time. This is why many farmers end up losing their land and businesses.
Government must take the lead by channeling funds through financial institutions like dfcu at favourable terms for farmers. Until that happens, agriculture will remain underfunded, under-protected and undervalued, despite being the backbone of the economy.
