Stories
October 17, 2025 • 2 min read
Christine Kamukama, a school accountant in Western Uganda, transitioned from managing spreadsheets to raising pigs after witnessing the success of a friend trained through GOAL’s Markets for Youth Programme implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. With determination and support from her savings and local VSLA, she built a thriving piggery that now supports her family and inspires others. Despite challenges like rising feeding costs and informal recordkeeping, Christine continues to grow her farm and mentor others in her community.
Ledgers and financial reports defined Christine Kamukama’s routine until a visit to her friend Emmaculate Kobusinge’s piggery in 2022 sparked a new ambition. Emmaculate had received training through GOAL’s Markets for Youth Programme, and her success planted a seed in Christine’s mind.
“I saw what Emmaculate had built with support from the programme,” Christine recalls. “That day, I knew I could do it too.”
With savings from her confectionery business and monthly salary, Christine purchased two piglets at UGX 50,000 (€12.54) each, built a modest pigsty, and bought a 100kg bag of maize bran for UGX 100,000 (€25.07).
Learning by Doing
Christine’s early days in farming were marked by trial, error, and persistence. She frequently visited Emmaculate’s farm to learn about hygiene, feeding routines, and breeding practices. “I didn’t know much about farming,” she admits, “but I was determined to learn.”
Her efforts paid off. Within eight months, her sow gave birth to six piglets. Christine borrowed UGX 300,000 (approximately €75.21) from her Village Saving and Loan Association to expand the pigsty and improve the feeding. She experimented with affordable supplements like discarded bread, market vegetables, and nutrition enhancers.
“Pigs are like children,” she says with a smile. “You have to feed them well, or they won’t grow right.”
By the end of 2023, her piggery had grown to 15 pigs. Feed costs increased, especially after one pig delivered 12 piglets in late 2024. Christine spends about UGX 500,000 (€125.35) every three months on feed. To manage expenses, she began growing maize and vegetables to supplement commercial feed.
Growth, Mentorship, and Future Plans
Christine now earns an average of UGX 1,400,000 (€351.00) every three months from selling piglets and mature pigs, with prices ranging from UGX 500,000 (€125.35) to UGX 1,000,000 (€250.70) depending on size. She reinvests her earnings and has diversified into goat keeping, currently raising four goats.
Her income supports her children’s education, nutrition, clothing, and healthcare. However, she acknowledges a gap in her business practices: “I know what I spend and what I earn, more or less,” she says. “But it’s all in my head.”
Christine is beginning to address this by improving her recordkeeping. Meanwhile, she continues to train neighbours and friends, earning the informal title of “Mentor” in her community. Her journey reflects how knowledge, when shared, can create lasting change, one household, one farm, one ripple at a time.
Learn more about the Markets for Youth programme.
