Elizabeth Ageno's domestic background is the source of her passion for farming. The 15-year-old affirms that they cultivate vegetables such as ‘nakati’ and collard greens, as well as maize and beans, for food and commercial purposes in their home. To cultivate the land, the family employs casual labourers.
Elizabeth is currently in Primary Six at Ngurwe Primary School in Nyambogo Village in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Uganda. In April 2025, her school was among the five selected in the refugee settlement, to participate in the Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded Biogas for Agriculture and Nutrition in Schools (BANS) project. The school management community selected a five-member group to work closely with the project activities.
“A list of interested students in primary four through six was compiled by the teachers. I expressed interest, and now I am a member of the ten junior farmer field school groups,” states Elizabeth.
The junior farmer field school groups received assistance from the community-based trainers in setting up a nursery bed for a variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, dodo, carrots, collard greens, onions, and cabbages.
Following the acquisition of necessary supplies, including garden tools, bio-slurry, seeds, watering cans, mulch, a shed, and a site, "we cleared and prepared the land, marked out the nursery beds, applied bio-slurry, sowed the seeds, watered, mulched, provided a shed, and took regular care while watching out for pests and diseases," says Elizabeth.
After three weeks, they transplanted the seedlings from the nursery bed to the garden, which was already prepared with bio-slurry and planting holes. “After that, we mulched and watered, which was a completely new process to me, since while at home, neither do we use bio-slurry nor am I actively involved in farming,” continues Elizabeth.
After one month of intense learning and practice, Elizabeth expects food from the harvest in order to eat healthily, income for the school and the opportunity to continue learning more from the project.
About the BANS project
The Biogas for Agriculture and Nutrition in Schools is a two-year (December 2024 – November 2026) initiative funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation. The project is implemented by CARE International as the lead, working with Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE), Biogas Solutions Uganda Limited (BSUL) and AVSI Foundation.
The initiative works with five schools in the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in South Western Uganda, to leverage biogas digesters for the enhancement of food security, strengthening the climate resilience of food systems, and contributing to improved short- and long-term health outcomes for children. By focusing on schools as entry points, the project seeks to explore the untapped potential of biogas digesters and bio-slurry as tools for sustainable agriculture and nutrition.
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