For many rural youths, hard work alone does not guarantee progress. Without access to capital, skills, and productive assets, even the most determined efforts often fail to break the hand-to-mouth cycle, leaving them struggling to survive rather than finding a path to growth. When agriculture is seen merely as labor rather than a business, opportunities for value-added services remain untapped. The journey of Nkwanga Kuzaima (27), as a Commercial Community-Based Facilitator (CCBF) from Bugiri District illustrates how this cycle can be broken through targeted investment, mentorship, and access to productive assets.

From Irregular Work to Opportunity

Until 2021, Kuzaima relied on small, irregular income-generating activities that barely met daily needs. Like many young people in rural communities, he had energy and ambition but lacked the tools and opportunities to build a sustainable livelihood. Owning productive assets or running a viable enterprise seemed far beyond reach. His turning point came in 2021, when the Bugiri Agribusiness Initiative for Development Association (BAIDA) identified him as a promising youth leader and selected him to attend an agribusiness training in Mukono.

Organized by partners including Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), with support from The Nippon Foundation, the training introduced Kuzaima to agribusiness skills, post-harvest management, and income opportunities across the agricultural value chain. For the first time, he began to see agriculture not as subsistence, but as a business with multiple entry points for youth.

Becoming a Service Provider

Motivated by this new perspective, Kuzaima returned to Bugiri and started a small produce-buying venture, linking farmers to markets. His consistency, honesty, and strong work ethic quickly earned him trust within BAIDA. That trust becomes pivotal when SAA provided BAIDA with a motorized mobile maize sheller. Recognizing Kuzaima’s discipline and reliability, the cooperative entrusted him with operating the machine and delivering shelling services directly to farmers across surrounding communities.

Access to the sheller fundamentally changed his income trajectory. Instead of waiting for occasional work, Kuzaima was now providing a paid, in-demand service. His earnings become predictable, scalable, and directly linked to farmer demand. By the end of 2021, proceeds from shelling services enabled him to purchase his first plot of land a milestone that marked his transition from a struggling rural youth to an emerging agripreneur.

“Before the sheller, I worked very hard but had nothing to show for it,” Kuzaima reflects.
“That machine gave me dignity. It showed me that services, not just crops, can change a life.”

Kuzaima proudly showcases one of his tools of trade a motorized weeder used to deliver timely, paid agricultural services to farmers.

Strengthening Skills and Expanding Services

In 2023, Kuzaima was selected to participate in SAA’s Youth Business Clinics, where he strengthened his skills in marketing, financial planning, customer care, and enterprise management. The training sharpened his business mindset, but expansion remained constrained by limited equipment.

In 2025, SAA Uganda, again with support from The Nippon Foundation, addressed this constraint by equipping Kuzaima with a full set of tools, including weeders, motorized spray pumps, and jab planters. This support enabled him to fully transition into the CCBF model, offering bundled, fee-based services such as planting, spraying, shelling, and basic aggregation.

From Subsistence to Stability

Today, Kuzaima serves more than 260 farmers across six parishes in Bugiri District. He earns an estimated USD 2,955 per farming season and approximately USD 5,910 annually, equivalent to an average of USD 490 per month. This represents a dramatic shift from his previous livelihood, which was characterized by small, irregular activities with unpredictable returns. For perspective, average monthly earnings in Uganda’s agricultural sector are estimated at about USD31, placing Kuzaima’s current monthly income, around USD 490, at more than fifteen times higher than typical agricultural earnings. This stark contrast underscores the transformative impact of the CCBF approach, demonstrating how targeted investments in youth skills, productive assets, and service-based agribusiness models can elevate rural livelihoods from subsistence to sustained economic stability.

Beyond Income: Building Assets and Community Impact

The impact extends well beyond income. Kuzaima has now acquired over four plots of land, diversified his investments, and comfortably supports his family, including ensuring access to quality education for his children. His enterprise has created employment for more than five other youths, while farmers benefit from timely mechanized services that reduce post-harvest losses and improve productivity. Kuzaima says, “Farmers trust me because I deliver on time and charge fairly,” and “When they succeed, my business also grows.” Looking ahead, Kuzaima plans to reinvest his earnings into poultry production, further diversifying his income and strengthening resilience.

A Model for Youth-Led Rural Transformation

Kuzaima’s story is more than a personal success.  It demonstrates how strategic investments in youth skills, productive assets, and cooperative-based service delivery agribusiness models can convert vulnerability into opportunity. With the right timing, tools, and partnerships, rural youth can build income, resilience, and leadership through agribusiness and, in doing so, transform their communities from the ground up.