In Uganda, women play a key role in agriculture. They are the backbone of household food production and rural livelihoods. Yet, they often remain excluded from access to productive resources such as land, inputs, and extension services. This exclusion is even more pronounced among women with disabilities, who face both gender-based and disability-related barriers.

The Acholi region in Northern Uganda experienced a civil war from the late 1980s until around 2006. The war left deep social and economic scars, especially for women. Traditionally, Acholi society is patriarchal, limiting women’s access to land and decision-making power. Even today, many women, especially those with disabilities, continue to face low social mobility and limited access to agricultural services. To address this gap, the study employed qualitative and participatory research methods.

Most women in the region engage in small-scale, subsistence farming. Thus, agricultural extension services are vital for improving productivity, especially for those who are subsistence farmers. Because access to extension services determines not only their productivity but also their ability to adopt improved inputs and techniques. Yet in the Acholi region, most farmers get an opportunity to get the agricultural training for a very few time. Extension officers give training once, usually during the early stages of farmer group formation. Limited government budgets and accessibility challenges have made service delivery sporadic, especially for women with disabilities.

Under these constraints, women’s networks play a crucial role in sharing agricultural information and supporting one another’s livelihoods. For women with disabilities, these networks often go beyond farming support. They also serve as safe spaces for dialogue and collective healing from the trauma of the civil war. Strengthening these informal systems of knowledge exchange and emotional resilience deserves further attention in future research.

During the fieldwork, I also observed that women with disabilities experience stronger social stigma than men with disabilities. While non-disabled women often have a wider social community and support, disabled women’s networks tend to be tighter and more cooperative. They try to help each other with farming tasks, resource sharing, and caregiving. The presence of women with leadership within the disability community made the network more active and better connected with the wider community.

I conducted this research with support from the Jastro & Shields Graduate Research Award, which enabled fieldwork in Northern Uganda. I am deeply grateful to my research team: Dr. Agole, Nancy, Allan, and the incredible women farmers who shared their stories and insights. Their courage and collaboration made this study possible.