Where Goats Listen to the Radio

“Is the radio for the goats or the people?” Florence Katwere from western Uganda asked curiously. A ripple of laughter spread through the group of Ugandan farmers and German LandFrauen who had gathered for an excursion to German farms in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. At the milking parlor of the "LBG Glasiner Gold" goat farm near Wismar, the visitors were amazed: the facility milks 1,600 goats in just under four hours. Farm owner Sidonie Beltman, demonstrating the milking hoses to the women, glanced at the radio mounted on the wall. "The radio is mostly for the people," she said with a smile. "But who knows? Maybe the music motivates the goats a bit too."

During this exchange, Ugandan farmers are trained in Germany on organizational development, advocacy, and leadership. The training includes field trips to agricultural enterprises alongside local LandFrauen. The project is organized by dlv-LandFrauen gGmbH, supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

“It’s interesting to look beyond the horizon with colleagues,” said Dr. Heike Müller, Chairwoman of the LandFrauen Association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, who accompanied the Ugandan women on the excursion day. “We all live on the same planet and are interested in the impacts of our actions on the Global South.” She had already been invited multiple times today by the Ugandan farmers to visit their homeland. As a token of gratitude, they presented her and others with scarves in Uganda's national colors. A pair of colorful flip-flops from Uganda also found a new owner on the goat farm. The exchange with the Ugandan guests was warm and uncomplicated, Müller said. “From one farmer to another, you always find common ground,” said the 59-year-old farmer from Malchin.

Many women lost their agricultural jobs after reunification

Müller and her husband had about 150 cows until 2023. She started her career at an agricultural production cooperative (LPG), the type of collective farm mandated in the DDR. She explained to the Ugandan women what reunification meant for farmers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with some figures: about 1,000 LPGs were transformed into 4,000 farms after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some employees bought land from the LPGs and leased additional plots. Many women lost their jobs on these farms; some moved west. To stand up for women’s rights and strengthen cohesion, the LandFrauen Association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was founded in 1991. Today, the association has 1,000 members. Nationwide, the German LandFrauen Association (dlv), which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, has 450,000 members.

In addition to their project work, such as an EU-funded nutrition program for primary and special schools to raise awareness about healthy eating, the LandFrauen also showcased their culinary skills during the meeting, preparing regional fish specialties like herring and shrimp. They also sewed bright red ponchos with the LandFrauen bee symbol embroidered on them for their guests. The LandFrauen of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern also maintain traditions such as crafting grain crowns from the last remnants of the wheat harvest, which they present annually to the state chancellery in Schwerin. The LandFrauen believe that women should become more visible and vocal in politics. With initiatives like the "Municipal Action Program – Women into Politics!", they aim to increase women’s participation in local politics. This is also a pressing issue for the Ugandan farmers.

“In Uganda, women work in agriculture, but men make the decisions. We need more advocacy for women. We want women to speak and the government to listen,”

said Stella Nabbumba, a farmer from central Uganda.

Involving the men

Due to the older age structure of the LandFrauen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 50 of them have formed the Young LandFrauen group. One member is Sidonie Beltman, the goat farm owner. “It’s great to have the LandFrauen network here in the countryside,” she said. Standing in the goat barn among her animals, she had to keep pushing the goats away during her English explanations to prevent them from nibbling her constantly. Amid the white German dairy goats, a few larger, brown-hued male goats with impressive horns roamed about. “Reproduction here happens naturally,” Beltman explained. “Our South African Boer goats are much smaller,” noted Florence Katwere as she stroked the head of an especially curious goat. The Ugandan visitors were particularly impressed to learn that goat milk was used to make cheese and ice cream. “It’s amazing how farmers here utilize every part of their production,” said Harriet Achola, a 34-year-old smallholder farmer from Amrun in northern Uganda. The women didn’t have to wait long for a taste test. They could choose between strawberry, hazelnut, or lavender ice cream.

“It’s fascinating to see how women in Germany are involved in agriculture and animal husbandry,” remarked Rehemah Nasejje. The 33-year-old farmer from Mukono in central Uganda raises chickens, the only form of livestock farming women in Uganda are typically involved in, she said. As the coordinator of the Ugandan Young Farmers Association (UNYFA) partnership with dlv under the project “Enhancing the Capacity of Young Women in Agri-Business (ECAWA),” Nasejje emphasized the challenges women face. Women work hard in agriculture but have little decision-making power. When they receive support, they often have to justify it at home and deal with conflicts. “We need to involve men in the process to make long-term progress for women,” she stressed.

A man is also part of the group – the coach Patrick Mpedzisi from Zimbabwe, who is accompanying the women on their study trip. For him, strong women in agriculture are normal, as he was raised by his grandmother, who practiced organic farming in his homelannd.

“I want to encourage the women in this training to be kind to themselves and to help each other. It’s important to build their self-confidence and determination so that they can grow both individually and collectively,”

Mpedzisi emphasized.

Community is also very important to the German LandFrauen. “There are always people to support you, to listen to you. It’s a wonderful community,” said Claudia Nielsen, Vice Chairwoman of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern LandFrauen Association. The 54-year-old farmer knows how vital a strong network is in challenging times. After a serious car accident left her husband requiring care, she faced the demands of running a family farm with 200 cows. She doesn’t plan to pass the farm on to the next generation. “My son should do what he loves,” Nielsen said. “We were workaholics,” Heike Müller added. Her children now live in Jena, Leipzig, and Rostock, pursuing careers as environmental engineers or teachers.

LandFrau Sabine Brauer explained to the Ugandan visitors how a family business can survive political upheavals for centuries during a visit to the Northern German Plant Breeding company (NPZ) on the Baltic Sea island of Poel. In 1897, farmer Hans Lembke began breeding winter rapeseed there. Under the GDR, the company was nationalized, and a second company was founded in Schleswig-Holstein to buy back the old firm after reunification. Today, the family-owned business employs 280 people and exports seeds to 43 countries, including Australia, Mongolia, Chile, and South Africa. The NPZ breeds winter and summer rapeseed, field beans, peas, and forage crops, optimizing them for new diseases and climate change. “I’m fascinated by how a business can endure across generations despite setbacks,” said Harriet Achola, the smallholder farmer from northern Uganda, during a tour of the breeding halls.

A life-changing experience

In her homeland, Achola coordinates a farmers’ association with around 3,000 members, training 2,000 women in agricultural practices and advocacy. She felt empowered by the LandFrauen. “Women can’t do much? Women have so much strength and can fulfill many roles,” she emphasized. “Age doesn’t matter. Many LandFrauen are over 50, but they’re still doing these amazing things.”

Anthea Ndyamuhaki from Kanungu in western Uganda also gained significant insights from her trip to Germany. “This study tour has been a life-changing experience for me. Through an organization like the German LandFrauen, I see the growth of unity and collaboration, enabling them to achieve great things together,” Ndyamuhaki said. The 27-year-old young farmer recently acquired 400 hectares of land for her coffee plantation. “This training has ignited something in me. I want to do something big and do it well – just like the LandFrauen do here.” Her dream is to provide training for young people, women, and men in agriculture. “They should reflect on themselves, find their purpose, and remember the values their parents taught them.”