fell in love with agriculture as a child. Whenever it rained he would support his mother and father in their garden and would sometimes go to graze animals. As he grew up the love and passion of agriculture also came out in his studies at school where he would end up with distinctions. His parents encouraged him to study agriculture, and he graduated with a Diploma in crop production and management from Busitema University. After university he wanted to cascade the knowledge he had gained to other farmers.  

For 5 years he worked with Warrior Squad Foundation in Kotido, where he was able to train farmers on how to establish gardens and make organic pesticides and compost. He then worked with Mercy Corps in Kaabong under the Apolou programme and Catholic Relief Services under the DINU programme (Development Initiative for Northern Uganda). This enabled Ochen to network with other partners like the Slow Food movement that deals on issues of traditional foods and culture preservation, agroecology, and organic farming – all issues close to his heart. Ochen was elected as a food leader and a community organiser in the Karamoja region and a Board Member of the Africa regional council, as technical advisor for the slow food youth network in Uganda.