Rodgers Mwijukye and Ronald Asiimwe have known each other long enough to disagree without making much of it. They met in high school in Uganda in 2015, attended the same university, and took degrees that pointed towards very different careers. Mwijukye studied water and irrigation engineering; Asiimwe studied computer science.
Mwijukye imagined postgraduate study, perhaps a PhD and a career in academia or public service. Asiimwe was the software guy, happiest behind a computer. Agriculture, however, kept pulling them towards the same problem.
In Uganda, millions of farmers still depend on rainfall to grow food. For farmers in drought-prone areas, a failed rainy season can mean a failed harvest and, with it, the loss of a household’s income and food. Mwijukye had trained in precisely the engineering that could help farmers become less dependent on rain.
The duo founded Drought Guard Africa in 2023, which designs and installs climate-smart irrigation, clean water, and solar energy systems for rural farmers, refugee settlements, and underserved communities.
But building the technology turned out to be easier than persuading farmers to trust it. Many had farmed the same way for generations. A new irrigation system, however clever, meant little until they could see it working on someone else’s farm.
“People believe successful stories from the people they know,” Mwijukye says.
It is a lesson that captures much of their journey. Africa may have the technology, but the harder problem is getting it onto farms where it can actually change how food is grown.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.