The Quiet Revolution: 9 Young Leaders Who Chose Their Communities Over Their Careers To Change African Agriculture, From the Ground Up With Roots Africa
They started as students. They became changemakers. Now they're the frontline leaders transforming African agriculture from the soil to the market. In UGANDA 🇺🇬 and LIBERIA 🇱🇷
Dear Roots Africa Family, if you ever want to see what real change looks like, the kind that sticks, don't look at the headlines or the conference stages. Look at the young people showing up every day in muddy fields, crowded classrooms, and remote villages, doing the quiet work that transforms everything from cultivation to harvest, storage, value addition, and markets.
Meet our 2026 Agri-Agents / Change Agents for our 2026 fiscal year.
They started just like many others, as students in our Changemakers Program. But over time, they’ve gone deeper. They’ve grown into leaders, mentors, and entrepreneurs. They’ve faced real challenges, found creative solutions, and brought others along for the journey. And now, they’re driving serious transformation in their communities, from the soil all the way to the market.
Here’s what makes a Change Agent stand out:
They belong to the communities they serve, they know the land, the people, the struggles, and the potential.
They’ve been trained through our mentorship and bootcamps, and now they train others, at least 10 changemakers and 30 farmers.
They are connectors, linking farmers to banks, knowledge to action, and local challenges to global solutions.
They’re not just teaching; they’re building sustainable businesses and leading by example.
They carry both the spirit of service and the drive to lead.
They’re the reason Roots Africa isn’t just a program. It’s a movement.
And now, we couldn't be prouder to let them speak for themselves.
🇺🇬UGANDA
1. Othieno Capher
Ntaawo Community, Mukono: Central Uganda
Uganda Christian University
RETURNING AGENT
"As graduates think of getting jobs, my focus was on how I became a beacon of change in farming communities. Roots Africa was the way."
While his classmates were polishing résumés, Capher was knee-deep in compost, literally. As a student at Uganda Christian University, he chose a different path: instead of chasing employment, he walked straight into the farming communities around Mukono and asked a simple question, how can I help?
The answer became his life’s work. Capher has established demonstration gardens across multiple farming communities under the Changemakers Program, turning small plots of land into living classrooms where farmers learn by doing. But he didn’t stop at training. At Makerere University, he coordinated student engagement in the Bakijjula community, where hands-on poultry farming workshops led to the formation of a cohesive farmer group that now runs a thriving poultry enterprise. He also brokered a partnership with UZIMA Chicken Company, giving farmers reliable access to quality chicks and creating a supply chain where none existed.
Back at Uganda Christian University, Capher connected students to the Ntawo community to champion organic urban farming. Farmers there now produce their own organic compost, grow fresh vegetables year-round, and generate income from surplus harvests. He even initiated a partnership with Syova Seed Company to ensure a steady flow of quality seeds.
Perhaps his most lasting achievement? He spearheaded a student club at his faculty that started as a small Roots Africa pod and has since expanded into a full-blown movement of changemakers, launching innovative student projects and mentoring future leaders in both entrepreneurship and agriculture.
This year, Capher is scaling up: strengthening the Syova partnership, bringing in new collaborators, and training the farmers he’s already reached to become trainers themselves, building a multiplier effect that will long outlast his tenure.
2. Aliyenka Firdausi Shaminah
Awich, Gulu: Northern Uganda
Gulu University
RETURNING AGENT
"Change is possible with a change in mindset!"
Firdausi’s journey with Roots Africa reads like a masterclass in growing from the inside out. She started as a club member, quiet, curious, watching. Then she became a pod member, then a pod leader, then club president, and now she stands as a full Agri-Agent for the Gulu University chapter. As she puts it, it wasn’t a one-day walk. It was a series of ups and downs, learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Science of Agriculture, Firdausi didn’t wait for a degree to start making a difference. Together with the Gulu University changemakers, she organized practical trainings in marketing and value addition for community farmers, empowering them not just to grow crops, but to increase their income through better pricing, processing, and market access. What were once subsistence efforts are now steadily becoming thriving agribusiness ventures.
Her team extended its reach beyond the classroom, training community farmers in sustainable vegetable production and bridging the gap between students and the people who feed the region. The results are visible: improved livelihoods, stronger farmer networks, and inspired youth ready to lead the future of agriculture. Her team’s dedication helped spearhead the 2025 Roots Africa impact track records.
Looking ahead, Firdausi is focused on bridging farmers with extension officers and savings groups to boost vegetable production over the next 12 months, continuing to prove that community transformation starts with a change in mindset.
3. Byamugisha Nickson
Kiteezi: Central Uganda
Makerere University & Bukalasa Agricultural College
NEW AGENT
"A moving man eventually meets his luck."
Somewhere between an idea and execution, Nickson realized something uncomfortable: having knowledge was not the same as creating impact. As a veterinary medicine student at Makerere University, he was surrounded by brilliant ideas about better farming systems, improved animal health, and innovative solutions. But a difficult question kept nagging him:Â What happens to these ideas after the classroom?
Most people waited to be given an opportunity. Nickson chose to build his own and extend it to others. As Team Lead of InnoVet, he redefined how students engaged with the animal sector, not just as future professionals, but as problem-solvers today. Through innovation bootcamps and collaborative platforms, he created environments where students didn’t just learn; they built, experimented, and took ownership of solutions that mattered.
But leadership also meant stepping into the problem himself. That’s where Pig-Link was born, a venture that tackles the gaps in pig production head-on, connecting farmers in Kiteezi to better breeding resources, practical knowledge, and market opportunities. Having experienced the realities of pig farming firsthand, Nickson understood that challenges like poor access to quality breeding services and fragmented information systems were holding entire communities back. Pig-Link became his answer.
As a new Agri-Agent, Nickson will focus on supporting students at Makerere and Bukalasa to move beyond theory and actively engage in solving real agricultural challenges. Over the next 12 months, he aims to strengthen the connection between university campuses and farming communities, ensuring that the ideas hatched in lecture halls translate into meaningful change on the ground.
4. Taremwa Antonio
Kazingo, Kihondo & Mugoma: Fort Portal, Western Uganda
Mountains of the Moon University
RETURNING AGENT
"Pigs, vegetables, and bananas aren't just crops and animals, they're the foundation for families to break free from poverty, one harvest at a time."
If you want to understand what an Agri-Agent does in the field, spend a day with Taremwa Antonio. Over the past year, he has trained more than 150 smallholder farmers across three communities, Kazingo, Kihondo, and Mugoma, in piggery production, vegetable growing, and banana cultivation. The numbers tell the story: household incomes have risen by up to 40% through improved yields and market linkages.
In piggery, Antonio teaches biosecurity, feed formulation, management practices, and breed selection. Farmers in Kihondo and Kazingo have expanded their pig stock, with faster growth cycles and a 60% reduction in disease-related losses. For vegetables, he championed climate-smart techniques like early cropping and improved agronomic practices, enabling farmer groups in Mugoma and Kazingo to harvest tomatoes, cabbages, and sukuma wiki year-round, generating an extra UGX 400,000 per season per farmer. In banana production, his focus on proper planting, mulching, and pest management has revived wilt-diseased plantations in Kazingo, boosting yields from 3 to 8 bunches per family per week and connecting producers to urban markets for steady sales.
As a returning agent, Antonio is now scaling his impact: expanding training to 300 more farmers, launching a community seed bank for vegetables, and piloting piggery cooperatives that can access veterinary loans. He’s living proof that targeted agricultural practices build resilient communities.
5. Naijakumumpa Winnie
Kiruhura District & Mbarara: Western Uganda
Bishop Stuart University
NEW AGENT
"I want to turn every smallholder farm into a thriving agro-enterprise that feeds families, creates wealth, and preserves our environment for the next generation."
In 2023, while most students were figuring out their career paths, Winnie was already growing mushrooms and an entire movement along with them. She launched the Fungi for the Future Initiative, establishing a community-run demonstration mushroom project that now provides high-quality, locally adapted spawns and cultivation knowledge to 120 smallholder farmers in Mbarara.
Her intensive trainings, which have also included refugees, cover spawn production, mushroom cultivation, and post-harvest handling. The results: a 45% increase in agricultural yields among participating households and a growing adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices across multiple growing seasons. The initiative uses agricultural fibre waste materials for production, making it both environmentally sound and economically efficient. She’s also facilitated the formation of collective bargaining structures that negotiate bulk market deals, including a partnership with a regional agri-processor that gives members access to premium prices and value-added processing. Perhaps most inspiring: 15 local youth have been motivated to start their own farm enterprises as a result of her work.
As a new Agri-Agent, Winnie brings deep expertise in climate-smart agriculture, from mushroom cultivation to hydroponic and aquaponic systems to dairy value addition. Over the next year, she plans to establish an Agro-Innovation Hub in Mbarara that will pilot modern farming technologies, digital farm management tools, and youth mentorship programs. Her goal is ambitious: increase the household income of participating farmers by 60%, expand sustainable practices to 500 additional households, and position Roots Africa as a leader in youth-driven agricultural transformation in western Uganda.
6. Aero Patience
Nkozi, Mpigi District (Central Uganda) & Kitgum District (Northern Uganda)
Uganda Martyrs University
NEW AGENT
"Empowering farmers with practical knowledge today builds a more sustainable and food-secure tomorrow."
Aero Patience is proof that innovation doesn’t need a lab; sometimes it starts with larvae. As a student at Uganda Martyrs University, she has already trained 20 farmers in Nkozi on the production and use of Black Soldier Fly larvae, a remarkably sustainable and affordable source of animal feed that helps reduce costs and dramatically improve livestock productivity.
But her impact stretches well beyond one community. In Kitgum District in Northern Uganda, Patience participated in tree planting initiatives promoting environmental conservation and climate resilience among farming communities. Working in partnership with the Motherland African Youth Foundation, she helped local farmers embrace agroforestry practices, weaving trees back into agricultural landscapes for both ecological and economic benefit.
What stands out about Patience is her ground-level approach. She doesn’t design solutions from a distance; she walks into communities, mobilizes people, and equips them with tools they can actually afford and use. Her focus on grassroots impact, practical, low-cost, and scalable, makes her a natural fit for the Agri-Agent role.
Over the next 12 months and beyond, she aims to expand her reach to more farming communities, promote Black Soldier Fly farming as a mainstream feed solution, and advance tree planting and agroforestry initiatives across Uganda. Her aspiration: to become a leading voice in sustainable agriculture and youth-led community transformation.
🇱🇷LIBERIA
In Nimba County, three young leaders are already doing the work: walking fields with farmers, mentoring students through Roots Africa pods, and proving that this model, community-owned, youth-led, grassroots-driven, knows no borders. Meet our Liberia chapter.
7. Zoleh P. Yakpah
Bong County & Greater Liberia
Bong County University (BCU) & Liberia International Christian College (LICC)
NEW AGENT
"Agriculture is not just about growing food; it's about growing people, opportunities, and lasting change."
Zoleh doesn’t believe in knowledge that stays on paper. Based in Baila town and the surrounding farming communities, he works side by side with farmers, not lecturing from a distance, but getting his hands in the soil alongside them, turning ideas into practical, measurable results in the field.
Over the past few years, Zoleh has supported several farming communities, with a particular focus on Baila, where he promotes simple, sustainable practices that help farmers grow more and do better. His approach goes beyond the farm itself: he introduces improved pest management methods, encourages sustainable agriculture systems, and helps farmers understand and access financial opportunities that many didn’t even know existed. Step by step, he’s helping farmers in Nimba County shift their mindset from subsistence survival to seeing agriculture as a genuine pathway for growth and prosperity.
Through his work with Roots Africa pods, Zoleh also mentors students, guiding them to become changemakers in their own communities. He helps them build the confidence and skills to train and support farmers, while creating strong connections between student groups and farming families. The result: trust, teamwork, and a shared sense of purpose that’s bigger than any one person.
At the heart of Zoleh’s philosophy is a conviction that training and mentoring people open doors to opportunities. When young people and farmers are given the right support, they don’t just improve yields, they create real and lasting change in agriculture and in their communities.
8. Blessing Zemay
Nengbein, Nimba County: Liberia
Liberia International Christian College (LICC)
NEW AGENT
"Agriculture is my passion, feeding lives and building hope, one harvest at a time."
For Blessing Zemay, agriculture isn’t an academic exercise, it’s deeply personal. Based in Nengbein, Nimba County, she has spent years working alongside farmers in her own community, helping them build practical skills that make a tangible difference in their daily lives. She doesn’t just share knowledge; she stays in the field to make sure it translates into real, practical results.
Her focus on simple, sustainable practices has helped farmers in Nengbein grow more and do better, season after season. But Blessing’s work extends beyond the rows of crops. She introduces better pest management practices, champions sustainable agriculture methods, and helps farming families understand and access financial opportunities that can change the trajectory of a household. Gradually, she’s helping farmers move from subsistence thinking to viewing agriculture as a pathway to genuine growth and economic independence.
Through her role in Roots Africa pods, Blessing also mentors students, guiding them to become changemakers in their own communities. She helps them build the confidence to train and support farmers themselves, while forging strong connections between student groups and the farming families they serve. This has cultivated something powerful in Nengbein: trust, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose that extends far beyond any single harvest.
Blessing believes that when you train people and mentor them, you open doors to opportunities they never imagined. It’s a simple philosophy, and she’s proving it works, one farmer, one student, one harvest at a time.
3. Allison L. Kpahn
Torglawin, Nimba County: Liberia
Liberia International Christian College (LICC)
RETURNING AGENT
"Agriculture goes beyond food production; it is a means of empowering people, creating opportunities, and driving sustainable transformation."
Allison L. Kpahn sees farming the way an architect sees a blueprint, not just for what it is today, but for everything it can become. Working in Torglawin and its neighboring communities in Nimba County, he collaborates closely with farmers, not only by sharing knowledge but by ensuring it takes root in practical, meaningful ways in the field.
His direct engagement with farming families has helped them acquire practical skills that improve their everyday agricultural activities. Through hands-on training and continuous mentorship within Roots Africa pods, Allison has supported both farmers and youth to develop, learn, and take initiative in their local environments. He introduces improved pest management methods, promotes sustainable farming systems, and assists farmers in understanding and accessing financial opportunities that can lift their enterprises to the next level.
What sets Allison apart is his belief in the multiplier effect of mentorship. Through the Roots Africa pod system, he equips students with the confidence and skills needed to train and assist farmers on their own, strengthening the bridge between young people and farming communities. This approach has built trust, collaboration, and a unified sense of purpose across Torglawin.
Gradually, his efforts are enabling farmers to make a critical shift: from subsistence farming to viewing agriculture as a viable, dignified path for growth and economic advancement. For Allison, that shift in mindset is the real harvest, and it feeds generations.
They Never Stop. Neither Should We.
These Change Agents aren’t volunteers. They’re full-time leaders, building farmer cooperatives, running trainings, collecting data, mentoring youth, and connecting the dots between universities and villages. This is their work. Their livelihood. Their calling. And it’s working.
But for them to keep showing up, and to reach more communities across Africa, we need to show up for them too.
Your support doesn’t just fund a role. It keeps the boots on the ground, the learning flowing, and the change growing from the bottom up. It helps real people do real work that makes a real difference.
If you’ve been looking for a way to make a lasting impact, this is it. Because the future of African agriculture isn’t a dream. It’s already growing, one changemaker at a time.
Let’s keep their light shining, for it impacts millions of others as we go into May
Thank you for engaging with us.
Yours sincerely,