Heifer International Uganda is stepping up efforts to attract more young people into agriculture by promoting technology, mechanisation, access to finance and innovative agribusiness opportunities, country director William Matovu has said.
Matovu said the organisation is increasingly using technology and new approaches to make agriculture more attractive to young people, warning that the sector could face serious challenges if the younger generation is not encouraged to take it up.
He was speaking ahead of Heifer International Uganda’s Signature Programme Forum scheduled for August 13, 2026, where the organisation is expected to reflect on its 44-year journey in Uganda and outline its plans for the next five years.
“We’re also introducing digitisation, or in broader sense, I would say technology, to ensure that we can encourage young people to get interested in agriculture,” Matovu said.
He said Heifer is using initiatives such as the Ayute challenge to identify and support innovative young agripreneurs who integrate technology into agriculture.
The initiative, he said, is intended not only to address challenges faced by farmers but also to create jobs and demonstrate that agriculture can provide viable business opportunities for young people.
Matovu said the need to attract young people is urgent because the average age of farmers in Uganda is estimated at between 56 and 60 years.
“If you don’t have an innovative way of how you can encourage young people to get interested in agriculture as a sector, then we’re going to be having challenges in years to come, whereby food security becomes a critical thing,” he said.
Despite concerns about an ageing farming population, Matovu said Heifer is already seeing growing interest among young people in agriculture, particularly where they are given access to modern technologies and new ways of doing business.
He cited work in the Busoga sub-region, where Heifer operates in 11 districts and is targeting the creation of 250,000 jobs for young people over five years.
Since the programme began around 2023, Matovu said, the organisation has built a network of between 160,000 and 180,000 young people involved in production, productivity and different parts of the agricultural value chain.
He said young people are not only interested in farming itself but are increasingly entering service-related areas of agriculture, including value addition and other businesses supporting the sector.
According to Matovu, access to mechanisation, technology and finance is helping to make agriculture more attractive to young people.
He also pointed to low-barrier agricultural enterprises, particularly horticulture, as areas attracting young people because they can generate returns within a relatively short period.
“We’re seeing a lot of traction in some of those areas. And of course, like I’ve said, a lot of interest in value addition,” Matovu said.
The renewed focus on youth is part of a broader transformation within Heifer International Uganda, which has moved from its traditional livestock-giving model to supporting farmers to participate more effectively in markets.
The organisation was established in Uganda in 1982 and says it has reached close to five million smallholder farmers over the years. It now plans to work with about one million smallholder farmers over the next five years, as part of its contribution to Uganda’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Matovu said the organisation has transitioned from being largely a livelihood-based organisation to becoming a market facilitator, linking farmers to markets, finance, technology, inputs and other actors.
He said organising farmers into groups is critical because it makes it easier for them to access markets, finance, knowledge and technology.
The approach, he said, is also intended to make smallholder farmers more attractive to commercial actors, including banks and private-sector companies.
Matovu said Heifer does not simply hand out money to young people but instead facilitates their access to appropriate financial products.
One approach is to work through savings and credit associations, where funds can be placed and products structured to meet the needs of young people.
Another model involves value-chain financing, where private-sector off-takers can provide inputs or equipment to young farmers, who then repay after selling their produce.
Matovu said such financing models are designed to reduce the risk of losses while allowing young entrepreneurs, financial institutions and private-sector actors to benefit.
He said Heifer’s broader strategy also includes climate-smart agriculture, irrigation, solar energy, agroforestry and mechanisation.
Through initiatives such as Tractors for Africa, the organisation is supporting smallholder farmers to access tractors at lower cost, while solar-powered systems are being introduced at some collection centres to improve reliability and reduce post-harvest losses.
For Matovu, attracting young people to agriculture is therefore not simply about encouraging them to become farmers, but about creating a modern agricultural economy where they can participate as producers, service providers, processors, technology innovators and entrepreneurs.
The organisation says partnerships with government, private-sector players, development partners, financial institutions and farmers will remain central to achieving this goal.
