When Hens Must Eat: How One Woman Is Rewriting the Future for Youth and Farmers in Uganda

At 24, Winnie Kiiza has learned something many people twice her age are still trying to understand: Opportunity does not always arrive loudly. Sometimes, it hides in the everyday needs of a community.

In Budebera Village in Mayuge District, part of Uganda’s Busoga subregion, where Winnie grew up, poultry farming is everywhere. Nearly every household keeps a few birds. Yet for years, farmers struggled to access reliable and affordable animal feeds. Today, that gap is being filled by Winnie, a young entrepreneur who, not long ago, was simply trying to survive.

A Dream Interrupted

In 2024, Winnie completed senior six, the final year of secondary school in Uganda, at Bunya Secondary School in Mayuge. Like many young Ugandans, she carried big ambitions.

“I wanted to go to university and study computer science, accounting or business administration,” she said.

But life had other plans.

After losing her father at a young age, Winnie was raised by her mother in a household of 13 children. She watched her mother struggle to keep everyone in school. When the time came for university, the family simply could not afford it.

“I passed my exams, but there was no money,” she said quietly.

What followed was a period that many young people know too well — the space between potential and opportunity. To survive, she began selling water, juice and soda by the roadside. Sometimes, she helped out at a nearby nursery school as a teacher, hoping for a small payment.

But the work was unpredictable. For a while, it felt like life was standing still.

The turning point for Winnie came in October 2025, when she heard about the Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment (SAYE) project, which aims to improve the socioeconomic well-being and resilience of young people in Uganda’s Busoga subregion. The project is implemented by Heifer International and a consortium of local partners.

Encouraged by a youth leader and community facilitator, she decided to participate in the project — not because she had a clear business plan, but because she wanted to learn.

“I just wanted to understand how business works,” she said.

Through SAYE, Winnie received training in sales management, business planning, animal feed formulation and record keeping. She also learned to use a digital bookkeeping app to track business transactions.

Then came the opportunity that changed everything. After completing the SAYE entrepreneurship training, Winnie received poultry and animal feed stock worth UGX 3.5 million and connections to customers through Heifer-supported farmer networks.

That support gave birth to her enterprise, which started as Ebenezer Animal and Poultry Feeds. As the business grew, Winnie rebranded it as Winners Animal and Poultry Feed to strengthen its market identity and visibility.

The Innovation Is Simpler Than It Looks

Winnie’s business idea did not come from complex technology or expensive equipment. It came from paying attention to everyday realities.

“Many people here keep poultry,” she explained. “But sometimes feeds are not available, or the person selling them is not around.”

She identified something others overlooked: a constant demand.

“In this business, it doesn’t matter if it rains or shines,” she said with a smile. “The hens must eat.”

That simple insight became the foundation of her business.

Today, Winnie produces poultry and animal feeds using ingredients such as soya beans, fish meal, cottonseed cake, sunflower, maize bran, shells and lime. She also formulates specialized products like Egg Booster and Meat Booster that promote egg production and healthy growth in birds raised for meat.

In addition, she has expanded her offering to include broiler feeds, layer feeds and day-old chicks. She is also an authorized agent for Jeka Poultry Farm, a poultry enterprise in Eastern Uganda that supplies poultry products and animal feeds to farmers. This partnership has strengthened her credibility and expanded her reach to a wider network.

Her customers include poultry, fish and pig farmers, as well as cattle keepers, many of whom are participants in the SAYE project in Mayuge District. She also serves other farmers in her local community.

What sets Winnie apart is not just the feeds she sells, but the knowledge she shares. When she first started her business, many farmers were unfamiliar with proper feed formulation. Their productivity was often low because their birds were not receiving the right nutrition. Instead of simply selling products, Winnie began guiding farmers.

“I explain to them what each feed does and how it helps their birds,” she said.

She also conducts regular farm visits.

“Once a week I go to see how the birds are performing. If something is not working, we discuss it,” Winnie said.

Slowly, farmers began to see results: healthier birds, better egg production and stronger growth.

Trust in Winnie and her business services followed. After just four months of operation, Winners Animal and Poultry Feed had already gained traction among local farmers.

A Business Takes Flight

Winnie currently employs five young people. Four of them support sales and marketing, and one assists as a casual laborer. Two transporters also earn income through distributing Winnie’s feeds to farmers.

Her market has steadily expanded, with a growing number of poultry farmers across Mayuge now purchasing from Winners Animal and Poultry Feed. Winnie has also taken important steps toward formalizing her business. With support from the SAYE project, she secured a trading license, registered her business with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau and established supply linkages with more affordable vendors.

For Winnie’s family, the impact is deeply personal. She now contributes to the construction of their home, supports her siblings’ education and assists with household needs. After years of watching her mother struggle alone, Winnie is now part of the solution.

Today, Winnie earns approximately UGX 100,000 per day, or $27, providing her with a more stable source of income and greater financial independence. But perhaps the most profound transformation has been internal. Beyond income, she has gained confidence, direction and a new perspective on opportunity.

“Business starts from the head, not from capital,” she said. “The real capital is the idea in your mind.”

Like many young entrepreneurs, Winnie continues to face challenges. Limited capital makes it difficult for her to scale production and meet increasing demand.

She also faces challenges in accessing consistent raw materials and expanding her customer base as she works to increase awareness of Winners Animal and Poultry Feed in a competitive market.

Even so, she continues to push forward, applying the skills gained through the SAYE project to navigate these constraints.

Looking to the Future

Winnie is ambitious but grounded.

Her immediate goal is to increase production to at least two tonnes of animal feed per week, supported by expanded market opportunities and access to capital. But Winnie’s vision goes beyond her own business.

“I want to train other youth so they can also start their own businesses,” she said.

She hopes to one day employ up to 30 young people — and eventually return to university.

Winnie’s story reflects a broader shift taking place across Mayuge, where young people are turning everyday challenges into sustainable opportunities. Because sometimes, innovation does not begin in laboratories or boardrooms.

Sometimes, it begins with a simple truth:

The hens must eat.