Walter from Uganda won a Marshal Papworth Scholarship through Hands Around the World, and attended Harper Adams University for a 10-week intensive course on Agriculture in 2025. Below is his encouraging report, where he shares how he is using his newly acquired knowledge to effect positive change within his local community.
Since my return from the Marshal Papworth Foundation (MPF) program on 16 July 2025, I have continued to apply the practical knowledge and leadership insights gained at Harper Adams University to the communities I serve through Field of Hope. Over the past quarter, my focus has been on integrating sustainable agricultural practices, strengthening farmer capacity, and expanding opportunities for youth and women through practical agricultural education.
This period included key initiatives in urban gardening, livestock development, agronomy training, and student mentorship. The MPF experience has deepened my professional outlook, inspired innovation, and strengthened collaboration within and beyond Field of Hope. The progress achieved demonstrates the ripple effect of the MPF scholarship, empowering smallholder farmers, students, and women in Uganda to adopt improved agricultural practices for food security and livelihood resilience.
Upon returning home, one of the first initiatives I implemented was establishing an urban garden demonstration site at our office compound. Drawing on the MPF module on urban horticulture, the garden was designed using locally available materials to show that productive vegetable cultivation is possible even in limited spaces. The garden serves as a hands-on learning hub for neighboring communities, teachers, and students, focusing on vegetable production, compost preparation, and organic pest control. Beyond education, the initiative addresses nutrition gaps in urban areas where access to fresh vegetables is limited. Plans are underway to expand this initiative into community-level kitchen gardens, particularly targeting women farmers to strengthen household nutrition and create income opportunities.
The Leyi-Naa project, an ongoing Field of Hope initiative, supports farmer groups in establishing small livestock enterprises such as poultry, piggery, rabbitry, and goat rearing. Applying MPF knowledge on pig management, hygiene, and breeding, I worked closely with farmers to improve biosecurity, feeding practices, and disease prevention. I introduced the importance of genetic diversity by recommending the use of a second sire boar to avoid inbreeding and improve productivity. The project now benefits about 40 farmers directly and over 400 community members indirectly, with visible improvements in animal health, productivity, and group collaboration.
Working with women smallholder farmers remains a core focus of my work. With renewed perspective from MPF, I have adopted more structured and analytical training approaches that combine agronomy with business thinking. Training emphasized proper spacing, line planting, crop rotation, enterprise selection, and economic analysis to help women choose crops that maximize returns based on land size, soil conditions, and market demand. As a result, many women have shifted from subsistence farming to more market-oriented production, keeping records, planning production cycles, and experimenting with improved seed varieties.
Field of Hope also continued promoting school-based agricultural innovation by supporting student-led projects. During this period, I visited several schools to mentor students managing piggery, poultry, rabbitry, vegetable, and hydroponics projects. Students improved biosecurity, adopted better feeding and management practices, and gained exposure to market-oriented production. The enthusiasm observed shows that students increasingly view agriculture as a pathway to self-reliance and community impact. Knowledge gained through these projects is expected to benefit over 2,000 community members indirectly.
Networking with fellow MPF scholars has inspired new initiatives, including the development of an aquaculture concept aimed at supporting lake-region communities affected by drought and declining productivity. This model seeks to diversify livelihoods, improve nutrition, and enhance climate resilience. Additionally, I initiated a review of Field of Hope’s safeguarding policy, drawing on MPF training in ethics and safeguarding to align organizational practices with international standards and ensure the safety and dignity of beneficiaries.
A key challenge remains limited funding for data collection related to a proposed study on hermetic storage to reduce post-harvest grain losses. Efforts are ongoing to identify partners and donors to support this work. Looking ahead, plans include scaling up urban gardening to reach more schools and women’s groups, piloting the aquaculture concept, and continuing technical support for farmers and students to ensure sustainable agricultural transformation.
I extend sincere gratitude to the Marshal Papworth Foundation, Harper Adams University, and Hands Around the World for this life-changing opportunity. The knowledge, exposure, and networks gained have strengthened my professional practice and expanded Field of Hope’s impact. The effects of the MPF program are evident in every farmer trained, student mentored, and community empowered, and I look forward to sharing further progress in future reports.
Walter Okullu
MPF 2024/25 Scholar
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