The 12th edition of Uganda’s flagship Best Farmers Competition has been officially launched in Njeru, Jinja, signalling a renewed push to reposition agriculture as a commercially driven sector backed by strategic investment and international partnerships.
The initiative is supported by a four-year €1 million grant, equivalent to about Shs4.1 billion, from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kampala, underscoring sustained international confidence in Uganda’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Other partners in the programme include dfcu Bank, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and De Heus/Koudijs Animal Nutrition.
Speaking at the launch, Mathias Jumba, Head of Integrated Channels at dfcu Bank, emphasised the need to reposition farming as a viable commercial enterprise.
“We recognised what this competition truly is: a powerful platform to prove that farming is not subsistence—it is enterprise. And twelve editions later, we have the evidence,” Jumba said, adding that cooperative structures remain critical in unlocking sustainable market access and improving farmer incomes.
This year’s competition is anchored on the theme “Farming as a Business: Growth, Commercialisation and Cooperatives,” reflecting a deliberate shift from subsistence agriculture towards enterprise-led farming models aimed at enhancing productivity, value addition, and market competitiveness.
A key highlight of the 2026 edition is the expansion of the competition to include large-scale commercial farmers and agricultural cooperatives, in addition to small- and medium-scale farmers who have traditionally formed its foundation.
The inclusion of cooperatives aligns with broader sector priorities to strengthen aggregation, improve market access, and unlock economies of scale across the agricultural value chain.
Uganda currently hosts over 32,000 active agricultural cooperatives and associations, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, underscoring their growing role in addressing structural constraints such as fragmented production, limited bargaining power, and restricted access to formal markets among smallholder farmers.
Industry stakeholders also highlighted the importance of strengthening agricultural input systems to drive productivity. Guido Stevens, Country Manager of Koudijs Uganda, stressed the need for reliable access to quality inputs, particularly animal feed.
“For agriculture to thrive as a business, farmers must have access to high-quality inputs, particularly animal feed. Investing in local production not only improves yields but also builds resilience within Uganda’s agricultural value chains,” Stevens noted.
He added that scaling domestic feed production will reduce reliance on imports while enhancing efficiency and competitiveness within the sector.
The Embassy of the Netherlands reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Uganda’s agricultural sector, highlighting the value of international exposure and knowledge transfer embedded within the programme.
Through fully funded study visits to the Netherlands, participating farmers gain access to advanced farming technologies, modern agronomic practices, and scalable business models—key enablers for improving productivity and export readiness.
The 2026 competition will identify 13 outstanding farmers through a rigorous selection process by an independent jury.
The winners will share Shs150 million in prize money and benefit from fully funded exposure trips to the Netherlands.
Since its inception in 2014, the Best Farmers Competition has evolved into one of Uganda’s most influential agricultural platforms, promoting innovation, knowledge exchange, and value addition across the sector while recognising excellence among farmers nationwide.
Chief Judge Dr Emma Naluyima urged farmers to adopt a business-oriented mindset, emphasising record-keeping, organisation, and profitability as critical pillars of modern agriculture.
As Uganda continues to prioritise agriculture as a key driver of economic growth, the competition is expected to play a catalytic role in accelerating commercialisation, strengthening value chains, and positioning farming as a sustainable and investment-ready enterprise.