Lira-based female writer won the youth innovation poetry challenge for 2026 held at Busitema University, Arapai Campus, Soroti.
Immaculate Acheng Otuko from Lira District won the young writers’ competition for 2026 organised by Uganda Women Writers’ Association (FEMRITE) themed Youths and arts for sustainable agro-ecological food systems. Her short poem, ‘What changed in the pot?’ was revealed as the best by the three sets of judges. The judges scrutinised a collection of more than 300 poems that Femrite received from across the country.
Otuko’s poem, What Changed in the Pot? uses the metaphor of the pot to portray what today gets out of our saucepans as food is served on our tables.
It makes a comparison of the chemical-laced foods from the farm that we feed on today with what it was before the food systems got adulterated by the current food chain systems.
Otuko, who walked away with the writer’s prize, certificate and Shs1m as winner for the youth innovation poetry challenge 2026, says her choice of the poem is based on the current realities that are hurting human health.
‘For the love of quantity and fast yields, the children now gobble chemicals in the name of food, mama says the beans don’t take long anymore, they soften too quickly, as if they have nothing left to resist,’ she shares.
Otuko, a teacher of English in Literature, says writing has been her hobby from Senior One, adding that over time she has accumulated a collection of poems to her name, ‘I grew up in the times of war and its resultant effect could have also shaped my view of the world around me,’ she adds.
The other poem, ‘What grandmother knew’ by Freddie Kayongo was recognised as the second best done. He walked away with shs500, 000 and a certificate from Femrite.
The third runners up in the competition jointly organised by Femrite, Stepup and McKnight foundation was Mark Wilson Muhindo from Kasese who authored ‘ Love the soil again’ walked away with shs300, 000, and certificate ,his poem revolves around the repeated use of chemicals and fertilisers while Aaron Dominic Omodo from Soroti also bagged Shs 300,000 and certificate for his poem ‘The red Tomato’.
The essence of competition
Ms Hilda Twongyeirwe, executive director of Femrite, said they received more than 300 poems from across the country but majority neither met the essence of the day because they were AI-generated nor the criteria for the competition.
She added, ‘As much as students may use AI, this should be for purposes of research but not passing exams. Don’t let AI use you. We were so strict that all AI-generated poems were detected, irrespective how beautiful they may have sounded.’
The beauty about writing, she said, is that it takes you into spaces that you have never been in physically. There is a lot to worry about in line with the compromised food systems, there is a lot of obesity in schools and the cancers that are taking us early.
‘As Femrite, we want to see how we can contribute to make our food and food systems sustainable,’ she explained, adding that the selection of Busitema University to host the award event was well-thought out, because they are championing development in agriculture.
To interest the youth to write about agriculture will ensure that we have sustainable food systems.
Rehema Eton, the deputy academic registrar Busitema University, Arapai campus, said there is a lot of research and publications that the university is doing, adding that the initiative by Femrite and her sister partners is a plus for them in creating awareness about the sustainable agro ecological food systems.
Femrite, together with her partners, states that over time, various changes have taken place in the farming sector, yet the human body, which is the recipient, has not changed.
Despite Uganda’s fertile soils, we are almost under siege from unsafe farm chemicals, an increased taste for processed foods, an indiscriminate appetite for improved seeds that may not be sustainable, use of unsafe oils, fats, and sugar, all of which could potentially lead to several challenges.