Agriculture employs more than 70% of Uganda’s population, but for many households it remains subsistence, low input, low output, and highly exposed to weather and price shocks. Access to financing is still limited, and value addition across most value chains remains underdeveloped.
That said, a shift is underway. A growing number of farmers are investing in scale, systems, and market linkages, treating agriculture as a business rather than a fallback.
The Best Farmers Awards have become one of the more visible platforms tracking this shift. Organised by Vision Group in partnership with dfcu, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Koudijs Animal Nutrition, the initiative has, since 2014, recognised over 130 farmers. The process includes applications, field visits, and assessments focused on productivity, record-keeping, sustainability, and how farms are run as businesses. Winners also receive exposure to international best practice through study visits to the Netherlands.
Dr. Richard Wemesa’s journey sits within this broader shift.
He grew up in Sironko District in a household where farming was part of daily life. His parents were teachers, but like many families, they relied on agriculture, especially coffee, to meet basic needs, including school fees. Farming at the time was not structured or mechanised. It was labour-intensive and routine. He recalls waking up as early as 3:00AM, walking for up to two hours through the hills, and starting work in the fields by 5:00AM. “Coffee paid our school fees,” he says.
Education changed his trajectory. He earned a government scholarship to Makerere University, later completing a PhD in Economics and Planning. He went on to teach and build a career in Uganda’s financial sector, spending over a decade in banking. At dfcu, he worked as a Sales, Credit Analysis and Evaluation Manager at the Bank’s head office in Nakasero, where his role involved assessing businesses, structuring credit, and evaluating risk.
After ten years in banking, he made a deliberate decision to return to agriculture. This was not a fallback, it was a calculated shift informed by both his upbringing and his professional experience. With a background in finance, he approached farming as an enterprise, focusing on structure, cash flow, and long-term sustainability from the outset.
With support from dfcu, including an overdraft facility of UGX 90 million, he began building a farming operation designed to generate consistent output and multiple revenue streams. “Without dfcu, this wouldn’t have been possible,” he says.
Today, his farm operates as an integrated agribusiness. He cultivates more than 50 acres of maize and runs milling operations producing over 20 tonnes per day. In addition, he manages poultry, piggery, dairy, and fish farming enterprises. Each unit feeds into the other, creating efficiencies, reducing waste, and ensuring value is extracted at multiple points along the production chain.
His business has also secured reliable market linkages. He currently supplies food to St Julian High School in Gayaza, providing consistent demand and improving revenue predictability.
In 2025, he was named among the winners of the Best Farmers Awards. His selection followed a rigorous process that included application, profiling, field assessments, and evaluation across innovation, sustainability, record-keeping, and overall business performance. What stood out was not only the scale of his operation, but the systems behind it, structured record management, adoption of modern farming techniques, integrated value addition, and a clear focus on environmental sustainability.
The farm employs over 60 people, providing stable livelihoods in a rural area where formal employment opportunities are limited. It has also become a practical learning site, attracting farmers interested in understanding how to transition from small-scale farming to more commercial, system-driven agriculture.
Dr. Wemesa’s trajectory reflects a broader pattern emerging in Uganda’s agriculture sector, where financing, structure, and market access are beginning to come together, and farming is increasingly being treated as a scalable business rather than subsistence activity.
Through continued financing, sector-focused solutions, and partnerships such as the Best Farmers Awards, dfcu remains part of this transition, supporting farmers who are building sustainable agribusinesses and contributing to economic growth.
