Patience Ninsiima’s story

Today, Patience Ninsiima, a coffee farmer, teacher and mother of four from the Kanungu District in western Uganda, is running a growing coffee farm business and helping lead change in her community as treasurer of the Rugyeyo Organic Farmers Cooperative Society.

But her journey has not been easy.

For years, Patience and other farmers in her area struggled with low coffee yields due to limited knowledge of good agricultural practices. Like many smallholder farmers, they were not using techniques such as mulching, pruning or planting shade trees – practices that are essential for healthy coffee production.

As a result, profit margins remained low, making it difficult for families to cover basic needs.

Everything began to change when Farm Africa started working with her cooperative.

Through training, Patience and fellow farmers learnt improved farming methods, including mulching to retain moisture in the soil, pruning to strengthen coffee trees and planting shade trees to protect crops and boost yields.

They were also supported in strengthening how they worked together as a cooperative.

Watch our video to find out more about Patience’s story.

Farm Africa introduced the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model, helping members access savings and small loans. Patience also learnt to view farming as a business, with record keeping becoming an essential tool to track progress and plan ahead.

By applying these skills, Patience’s coffee farm has been transformed.

Coffee production has improved, household income has increased and the family’s financial stability has grown.

“School fees were a struggle previously because coffee wasn’t able to produce good yields. Now, my family is able to cater for the school fees using our improved income because I practise good farming practices,” she says.

With higher yields of better quality coffee, better financial management and the support of her cooperative, Patience is building a more secure future for her family. Her story shows how knowledge, collaboration and the right support can help coffee farmers thrive.

Patience drying her coffee beans.

Patience’s impact goes beyond her own farm. Her children are now learning agricultural skills too, following in her footsteps and adopting improved farming methods.

“My future plan is to have a good booming business after putting into practice all these things we were trained in,” she says.

Patience with her family.

Patience took part in Farm Africa coffee projects funded by the European Union and UK aid from the UK government.

All photos: Farm Africa / Jjumba Martin