What is it? 

Harvest Money Expo Conference is Uganda’s biggest agriculture and agribusiness annual exhibition event that always takes place at Kololo Independence Ground in Kampala. The event is organized annually by Vision Group in partnership with Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). The Expo started in 2017 following a successful selection of the 10 best farmers in Uganda that allowed them to travel to the Netherlands for farming exposure. The event brings together model and smallholder farmers, non-governmental organizations, agricultural government agencies, financial institutions, and agricultural private sector actors like agro-input companies, mechanization, and farm equipment dealers, agro-processors among others. The Expo takes three days and different exhibitors showcase their innovations, technologies, and new products to farmers, students, agricultural extension workers, and aspiring entrepreneurs to take farming as a business. During the event, several training sessions such as urban farming, piggery, goat rearing, dairy, poultry production, and vegetable production are always conducted by experts to equip participants with practical knowledge and skills related to agriculture.

Why do we go?

Field of Hope and Harvest Money Expo share the goal of improving farmers’ livelihoods through access to financial services, technology, and knowledge. Therefore, the Harvest Money Expo Conference provides a unique learning opportunity, creating a network and collaboration with actors in the agriculture value chains, and sharing knowledge, skills, and experiences on best practices to empower the smallholder farmers, youth, and students that Field of Hope works with. The Expo also provides a path where the Field of Staff working with schools learn about new agricultural technologies, and techniques, such as urban farming and school gardening that can be shared with partner teachers.

What did you learn? 

Harvest Money Expo presented many learning opportunities for Field of Hope staff. “During the three days at Harvest Money Expo, I was able to learn and improve my knowledge and skills on farming as a business through diversification of enterprises, value addition, marketing strategies, and risk assessment and mitigation. Exhibitors and experts demonstrated innovation and skills in a modern intensive system of growing crops and rearing animals that are climate change resilient. With this wealth of knowledge and skills gained, I hope to be in a better position to build resilience among the smallholder women farmers and youth that Field of Hope supports” Joseph Apea – Program Associate

“As a person who heads the Youth Agriculture Education program, the Harvest Money Expo allowed me to acquire knowledge and skills that will improve my service delivery to the teacher, the students, and the farmers. I have acquired knowledge and skills in aquaculture, poultry, goats’ management, and vegetable production. All those skills will help me in giving technical advice and monitoring the Inspiring Students in Agriculture Grants and training of farmers. I have also created connections with different companies and other private sectors that will provide genuine agricultural inputs to both partner schools and farmers” David Obong, Program Associate

What can we use for Field of Hope this year with what you both learned? 

• Implementation of Leyi Naa Piggery Project. With piggery training sessions and a training manual from National Animal Genetic Resources Center & Data Bank during Harvest Money Expo, Field of Hope will effectively and efficiently implement the said project.
• There are opportunities for partnership with other organizations working or supporting similar activities like Field of Hope.
• Inspiring Student in Agriculture Grant (ISAG). Through network and collaboration, we created value chain actors like Uzima Chicken, and Grain Pulse among others, implementation of ISAG projects in different schools will be easy as these actors will provide necessary services like good breeds of chicken, feeds, seeds, and other inputs.

By: Joseph Apea & David Obong

Welcome to the Field of Hope family, Chris Hafner! Chris, the son of Field of Hope’s co-founders Mike and Cathy Hafner, brings a wealth of passion, insight, and dedication to our organization as he joins us as a board member.

Chris’s journey with Field of Hope began long before his official appointment to the board. Having admired our mission and the impact we’ve made in Uganda for over a decade, Chris’s admiration grew exponentially after he had the opportunity to travel to Uganda with one of our founders, a former board member, and a Fellow. During this trip, Chris had the chance to meet and get to know our Ugandan staff, gaining firsthand insight into the universal significance of agriculture among Ugandans and its pivotal role in improving lives across the country.

Impressed by our long-term approach to building knowledge and expertise within Uganda, Chris was particularly drawn to our commitment to improving food security and economic opportunities for smallholder farmers. Witnessing the dedication and impact of our Fellow program and the response of Ugandan farmers to Field of Hope’s initiatives solidified Chris’s desire to become actively involved in supporting our efforts.

As Chris embarks on his journey as a board member, he said he is most excited about the opportunity to learn and grow alongside our organization. Chris brings invaluable expertise in business and talent development, which he hopes to leverage to contribute fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to our operations. He is eager to immerse himself in understanding how our organization operates and to explore new avenues for organizational growth and effectiveness.

With a focus on being inquisitive and open to learning from his fellow board members and our dedicated team, Chris is poised to make a significant impact in shaping the future of Field of Hope. We are honored to welcome Chris to our board and look forward to the invaluable contributions he will bring to our mission of creating sustainable change and improving lives in Uganda.

We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our Field of Hope family: Sarah McCord! Sarah has been an integral part of our  organization since her fellowship with us, and we are delighted to welcome her aboard as a junior board member.

Sarah has been diligently working towards completing her Master of Science in Agriculture at Missouri State University while also juggling part-time work at a bank and serving as a graduate assistant for the university. Her dedication to her studies and her passion for making a difference in the world are truly admirable.

Currently, Sarah is in the final stages of collecting research for her thesis and is set to graduate with her degree in May. Following her graduation, she will embark on an exciting 10-day trip to Germany with MSU, an opportunity she is eagerly looking forward to.

Despite her busy schedule, Sarah expressed her eagerness to join the Field of Hope board to provide youthful opinions and stay actively involved in supporting our organization. She believes that Field of Hope brings immense joy, light, knowledge, and learning to her life and others, and she knew she wanted to continue her involvement since the day she flew home from her fellowship.

One of Sarah’s greatest aspirations is to show other fellows and friends that they can stay connected to Field of Hope in a variety of ways. She is incredibly honored to share her voice and experiences with the board and is determined to contribute wholeheartedly to our mission.

We are beyond grateful for Sarah’s dedication and enthusiasm, and we are thrilled to have her leadership, insights, and faithful commitment on our board. Welcome back to Field of Hope, Sarah! We are grateful to have you with us on this journey, and we look forward to the positive impact we will make together.

I always have a little chuckle when I find myself in places I would have never imagined going. coming from the girl who never got on an airplane till I was 20 years old, and it was to Kenya, Africa. Life begins at the end of our comfort zone!

This trip to Uganda, was to help me gain experience in International Agriculture to help pursue a career in the industry. Although, 10 days before I left, I was hired as the Texas Organic Program Coordinator. I was still determined to go to Uganda. As I wandered myself to Uganda, I really had no idea what to expect other than we were going to be hosting Agriculture teacher training.

I wouldn’t say my job was on the front lines, but maybe more behind the scenes. A little hint from the Lord to let me see the bigger picture. I was behind the face of the camera. Trying to slow time down in a glimpse of a memory. Being behind the camera in Uganda, I witnessed my favorite people dancing and singing to the beat of the music. I was able to catch the love on their faces when they received new material for teaching their children. Capturing the hard work and determination to make sure their students were able to receive all the opportunities they could give them.

My time with Field of Hope at the teacher training was sweet. I met so many sweet faces sitting behind the camera. I loved being able to meet with the teachers on a real note and see their real-life stories. To hear their highs and lows of being a teacher in Uganda.

Traveling to new places can broaden our perspective and help us learn about different cultures and ways of life. It’s amazing how much we can learn from exploring new parts of the world. And even if we don’t travel far from home, trying new things and challenging ourselves can also be a great way to grow and learn.

Hi; I am Emmanuel Opio, a teacher and Head of Department for Agriculture at St Gracious secondary school Lira. In today’s era, practical learning is absolutely necessary, especially in the vocational and pre-vocational subjects which includes agriculture. In my homeland, Uganda,
agriculture rings the loudest bell, being the back bone of the economy, due to its ability to employ over 80% of the citizens and uphold food security. So, it is in the best interest of many schools to have many agricultural projects that support hands on learning. This may present shortcomings in different ways but most commonly, finances. The good news is that some schools including St. Gracious secondary school were able to get a lift financially and that is what I would like to share with you today. At “SAGRASS” we now have a fully running poultry project where our learners freely interact with and are able to see and touch everything they learn about poultry and this was made possible by the grant given by Inspiring Students of Agriculture Grant (ISAG) under Field of Hope. The ISAG grant was to the tune of 1000 US dollars from which we were able to buy the stock, feeds, equipment, medicines and vaccines. I got to know about Field of Hope through a social media forum after which I applied for teacher training program. During the training, we were guided on how we could apply for the Field of Hope ISAG grant.

That was in the year 2023. We wrote our project proposal which was approved after scrutiny by Field of Hope staff . We later wrote a business plan, submitted and were approved by Field of Hope followed by a feasibility visit (assessment of the school readiness to host the project) by their staff. This was followed by signing of the memorandum of Understanding between school and Field of Hope. The grant was released into the school account. At St. Gracious secondary school, we started rearing 254 chickens from chick stage that provided a comprehensive learning experience for our students. The breed we keep is a mixed, dual-purpose. We are having a steady progress with a few challenges which are learning areas for the students.

We hope to have a 20% increase in the number of birds by the next stocking. The success of the Field of hope project funded by ISAG at our school is basically attributed to the strict observation of rules by the students in the management areas of feeding, parasite and
disease control, biosecurity and general housing conditions. The project has changed a lot if things already, from making learning easy and real to igniting interest of students and even teachers to practically take up poultry farming. All poultry related lessons are all being conducted from within the premises of the poultry house. The project has enhanced hands on experience and has encouraged practical learning.

The students are self-motivated in doing the project work and surprisingly we have already witnessed a rise in the number of students leaving other optional subject for Agriculture. It has stimulated some students to start their own at home which has greatly impacted the community like on one occasion the deputy of the school requested for the breeders contact and ordered his stock immediately, since he already had the structure.

On behalf of St. Gracious secondary school I would like to acknowledge the support of Field of Hope ISAG grant and confirm that it is really helpful to the learners, staff and the community out there and for the first time I feel like a great teacher. You are really doing a big job in the move to ensure sustainable agriculture for a stable global food security.

BRAVO, Field of Hope! BRAVO, ISAG.

Angela Hurst is one of our 2023 fellows. Currently in her master’s program at Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater Oklahoma, Angela is studying International Agriculture. She is currently on-the-ground in Lira, and staying at the program office-house.

Angela decided to apply for a fellowship after learning about FOH’s mission. She said, “I knew that I wanted to try and be apart of that mission.  I came into this degree not truly knowing what I wanted as a career, but knew I was being called to use my background in animal science as a tool for the development or improvement of food and nutrition security in developing nations.” Her background in animal science is incredibly helpful this summer, specifically to the expansion of our smallholder farmer advancement pillar where we are implementing animal projects.

Ms. Hurst is giving her expertise in animal sciences, but also hopes to learn from Uganda. She said, “I love learning about new people and cultures and look forward to experiencing this within Uganda.  I am just so excited to get to work with people and serve them in a way that will help them.”

Angela intends to bring what she learns, in every way, back home. She explained, “my family loves when I share what I have learned in school and I can’t wait to be able to share this with them.  I believe that if people are open to learning new cultures and ways of life, we can get closer to a united form of the world.” She also specifically wants to share a specific piece of Uganda with her mom–fabric! Angela said, “My mom also likes to sew and I can’t wait to bring home some fabric that will not only remind me of my time with FOH, but also be a great conversation starter when I wear it around good ol’ Oklahoma.”

We cannot wait to see all that Angela does this summer, and how this experience impacts her. Best of luck, Angela!