For Mildred Kinene, a smallholder farmer and single mother of four in Kawo Village, Luweero District, Uganda, every new school term brought the same uncertainty: how to pay her children’s school fees. With two children in secondary school and two in primary school, education was her largest household expense, and delayed payments often meant her children risked being sent home.

Determined to find a more reliable source of income, Mildred embraced an opportunity to grow iron beans after learning about the crop through a Parish Development Model (PDM) meeting, where HarvestPlus Solutions introduced farmers to improved iron bean varieties and facilitated access to subsidized seed for vulnerable women.

Starting with just two kilograms of seed, Mildred harvested about 30 kilograms of grain within two months. Encouraged by the results, she expanded production the following season, planting 15 kilograms of seed and harvesting approximately 300 kilograms.

Her breakthrough came when the harvest coincided with the start of the school term. Knowing that nearby schools regularly purchase beans for school meals, Mildred approached the head teacher at her children’s secondary school with a proposal: purchase her harvest and deduct the school fees from the payment. The school agreed, covering the fees for her two children and paying her the remaining balance. She soon established a similar arrangement with the primary school attended by her younger children.

“These beans have kept my children in school. I do not worry about money anymore,” Mildred says with pride.

Rather than stopping there, Mildred recognized a growing market opportunity. She spoke with school cooks to understand their experience with the beans and learned that students enjoyed them and the kitchens valued their shorter cooking time. Seeing consistent demand, she expanded her production and encouraged neighboring farmers to grow iron beans as well.

Today, Mildred not only grows iron beans but also aggregates grain from six neighboring farmers, supplying around half a metric ton of beans annually to four local schools. In doing so, she has become a trusted market link between smallholder farmers and institutional buyers, helping create reliable demand for nutritious food while generating income for farming families.

For Mildred, iron beans have done more than improve household nutrition. They have provided a dependable livelihood, enabled her to keep all four children in school, and transformed her from a subsistence farmer into a local entrepreneur creating opportunities for others.

Her story illustrates how farmers are driving the adoption of nutritious crops and building stronger local food systems. By connecting farmers with sustainable markets such as school feeding programs, HarvestPlus Solutions is helping scale both nutrition and livelihoods—empowering farmers like Mildred to improve their own lives while creating lasting benefits for their communities.

Looking ahead, Mildred plans to continue expanding iron bean production, grow her farmer network, and supply even more schools. Her ambition reflects the potential of farmer-led innovation to improve nutrition, strengthen rural economies, and inspire others to follow the same path.