DON’T EAT YOUR FARM PROFITS! Equity Bank Schools Farmers on Money Mistakes Killing Agribusiness
Philip Kiryowa, a financial literacy trainer at Equity Bank Uganda shares his thoughts during a panel discussion
KAMPALA – Equity Bank Uganda has urged farmers across the country to stop treating farm income as household cash, warning that poor financial discipline—not poor harvests—is pushing many profitable agricultural enterprises into collapse.
The call was made during the Tulime, Tulunde, Tufune Agro Expo held at the UMA Showgrounds in Lugogo, where the bank took centre stage in equipping hundreds of farmers with practical financial management skills aimed at transforming agriculture into sustainable and bankable businesses.
Speaking during a financial literacy session, Philip Kiryowa, a Financial Literacy Trainer at Equity Bank Uganda, told farmers that mixing business money with personal expenses remains one of the biggest threats to commercial agriculture.
“You cannot run a sustainable enterprise if your pocket is both the farm’s cash register and your household bank account,” Kiryowa said.
He challenged farmers to separate business finances from family expenses by paying themselves a fixed salary instead of treating every shilling earned from the farm as personal income.
Kiryowa explained that many farmers find themselves trapped in debt despite recording good harvests because they lack proper financial planning, budgeting and record-keeping.
He encouraged participants to develop realistic budgets that cater for seasonal changes, fluctuating market prices, weather-related risks and production costs, saying these are critical for ensuring long-term business growth.
According to Equity Bank, maintaining proper financial records also increases farmers’ chances of accessing affordable credit from financial institutions since lenders require evidence of business performance before extending financing.
The bank noted that improving financial literacy among farmers is key to unlocking greater investment in Uganda’s agriculture sector, which remains the backbone of the country’s economy.
The financial literacy training formed part of the Tulime, Tulunde, Tufune Agro Expo, an agricultural exhibition organised by Sanyuka TV under its flagship economic empowerment initiative. The event attracted hundreds of smallholder farmers, agribusiness owners, innovators and exhibitors showcasing modern farming technologies and business solutions.
Equity Bank highlighted that it has deployed financial literacy trainers across the country to provide free training on budgeting, bookkeeping, business management and cooperative development, helping farmers build resilient and profitable enterprises.
The expo also featured a wide range of innovations from commercial crop aggregators, agritech companies and organic waste processors, offering farmers new opportunities to improve productivity and increase incomes.
With agriculture increasingly shifting from subsistence to commercial production, Equity Bank says empowering farmers with sound financial management skills is just as important as providing access to financing, as it enables them to grow stronger businesses capable of withstanding economic shocks and expanding sustainably.
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